Wings of Change
by ChibiLover123
Summary: Sequel to 'Roses and Thorns' and 'The Green-Eyed Quartz', a Steven Universe/Harry Potter/Pokemon crossover. Third Year is here, and there's another mystery for Harry and Nasrin to solve, like always. But will they be strong enough to survive do so?
1. Chapter 1

Bare toes curled into soft grass as Nasrin slid under the broad-leafed underbrush, dark eyes scanning the trees as she stepped around the clusters of precious stones and geodes littering her path.

Paws silent on the exposed dirt, Scooby loped ahead, ears perked forward and nose twitching as Snow circled around to check their rear, tails swaying.

Water crashed against stone in the background, like white noise, and Nasrin glanced up as Robin glided past on silent wings.

 _It should be around here somewhere_ …

A sharp cry, and the pink-haired girl leapt sideways to avoid being crushed under a boulder-sized, spiked fist that came crashing down and cratered earth in an explosion of debris.

"Aurora Roar!"

The massive Gem Monster bellowed as the icy beam exploded into a blinding spray inches from contact, stumbling back-

"Electro Kick!"

Squishie leapt up from behind, kicking Squeaker's Electro Ball right into the unnatural juncture between the corrupted Gems' split torso and tossing the four-armed creature through nearby trees in a rush of splintering wood.

Smacking aside the larger pieces of debris with her shield, Nasrin closed the distance before her target could rise, the mouths on its shoulders twisted in pain.

"Ominous Blast!"

Robin swooped down with Star clinging to her talons, Ghostly wind mixing with Fairy light to knock the Gem Monster over as it tried to rise, and Nasrin darted through the uprooted geodes.

"Scooby!"

Said Rockruff howled, pulling up a Protect around the other Pokemon as she came down on their target shield-first in a shockwave of smoke that filled the entire newly-made clearing.

Rising from the crater, Nasrin held up the bubbled Gem as the smoke dissipated, messy ringlets falling in her eyes.

Robin trilled in delight over the victory-song Star, Scooby and Snow were belting out, and Squishie grunted when Squeakers tackled him in a hug, squeaking happily.

 _Mission accomplished_.

* * *

It had been Garnet's decision to have Nasrin join them in hunting down corrupted Gems, despite Pearl's immediate flailing panic.

"She's faced worse at Hogwarts." The Fusion had pointed out, stoic in the face of Pearl's high-pitched shrieks. "She's ready."

Hopping over a moss-covered fissure, Nasrin grabbed an arch studded with precious stones one-handed and swung to solid ground, a dozing Robin swaying on one shoulder while Squeakers squealed happily, clinging to messy shoulder-length ringlets.

Studying the bubbled Gem floating in her hands, the pink-haired girl ran a finger around the strange, jagged veins that warped the two-pronged surface like burn scars.

 _Corruption is not a crack in the Gem, but a tear in the mind_.

Shaking the thought away, Nasrin looked back at the Watermelon Village with a smile, Star leaning over her back to wave enthusiastically towards the Watermelon People and their assortment of Lileep, Cardily, Anorith and Armaldo.

Apparently, there had been a time when the living watermelons had been decidedly unfriendly to anyone or anything besides the Rose Quartz Gem, but that was hard to believe now.

Scooping up a struggling Squishie, she stepped up onto the warp pad and waited for Scooby and Snow to join them, taking a deep breath.

 _Home_.

The circular slab of crystal lit up, and they were gone in a bell-like WHOOSH-

A purple blur flew past, crashing into a wall, and a strange, helmeted Pokemon roared, rearing back to brandish frosted insectoid forelegs as Pearl stepped forward, spear in hand.

The older Gem yelped as she was yanked off-balance, and Nasrin held up a hand to both sides, Snow yipping at Lilligant and Bellossom while the others surrounded their trainer.

"STOP!"

Dropping into a crouch, the Pokemon let out a low growl, fish-fin tail trembling.

"Please, stop."

The world faded into familiar blackness, and his voice rumbled back, like what one imagined a warrior god must sound like.

" _Who are you? Why am I here?_ "

" _I'm Nasrin, bearer of the Rose Quartz Gem_." She answered softly, sensing the tension that thrummed in his massive chimera body. " _The others are Pearl and Amethyst. They were searching an abandoned laboratory and must have found you. Are you in pain?_ "

" _My life is pain_." He growled, the shadows of his helmet almost haunting with the melting frost. " _I was made to be a Killer of Beasts, and all I've known since those humans is the cold_."

Heart twisting, Nasrin swallowed back the lump of emotion in her throat.

" _Someone…made you?_ " Snow whispered, horrified.

" _Yes. They called me Type: Full before they attempted to awaken my power and failed, sealing me and my brothers away. I am called Type: Null_."

" _That…That's terrible_." Star whimpered, tears in her eyes.

" _Those meanies!_ " Squeakers condemned, sniffling.

" _Those…Those stupid-heads!_ " Robin agreed, scratchy voice cracking with emotion.

" _I'm so sorry for what happened to you_." Nasrin choked out, tears dangling from rosy lashes, and Type: Null fell silent, seeming to stare into her soul. " _I promise you, whoever did this will never,_ ever _hurt you again_."

"… _You…You mean that_."

This was not said as a question, more like a startling fact, and it tore further at her heart.

" _Of course she means it!_ " Squishie replied, glaring.

" _Our Nazzie is an honorable person!_ " Scooby agreed, a growl in his low voice. " _She would never allow people to hurt Pokemon!_ "

Type: Null blinked slowly, as if processing their words carefully, and looked up into shimmering dark eyes.

" _You are…different_." He acknowledged, taking in the half-Gem and her Pokemon as if for the first time. " _I have never met a human who cared how I was treated_ …"

After a moment, Type: Null seemed to nod, determined.

" _I will follow you, Nasrin Universe, and see if this is true_."

The world snapped back into sharp focus, and Nasrin let out a breath as the Synthetic Pokemon shook melting ice from his fur and feathers, dropping to one knee in a bow.

Blinking as tears rolled down her cheeks, she pulled out a pink Love Ball from the bag at her hip and gently touched it to Type: Null's helmet, capturing him in a beam of red light.

Pearl and Amethyst watched, wide-eyed and dumbstruck, as the Ball gave a single shake before clicking in success.

Almost immediately, she called the chimera-Pokemon back out, dropping to her own knees to wrap her arms in a hug around the maned neck and press a kiss to his covered forehead.

"I won't let you down." Nasrin swore as the others closed in around them, purring and cooing. "If it's the very last thing I do, I won't disappoint you…Prince."


	2. Chapter 2

The forests of northern Avalon were humid and dark, full of hoots and cries and the creak of branches, pebbles pitter-pattering down low hills.

Nasrin brushed back sweaty bangs, her 'Naturally Sweet: No Sugar Added' crop top and denim shorts doing little to help with the heat, and glanced over to Harry as the boy pulled at his thin gray shirt to circulate air.

There were rumors of specially-colored Pokemon in these forests, and while she was uninterested in catching one, the half-Gem had been happy enough to tag along for company, at least.

Head low and ears twitching, Scooby carefully stepped through the underbrush, yellow eyes glowing in the dark as he looked around expectantly.

Perched on a branch overhead was Eevee, crouched low against the bark, watching, and Nasrin understood Harry's frustrated tension at that moment.

While being Fused had mitigated some of the effects, their use of Speaking to distract Zygarde had given both a brain aneurysm that, quite frankly, terrified both Remus and the Crystal Gems.

Garnet had understood that the circumstances were extreme, but Remus insisted that Harry wait until being properly trained before attempting the Lost Art again, leaving him unable to ask Eevee or Scooby what they were waiting for.

A twig snapped, and both teenagers froze in place, seconds stretching into hours…

A chubby Bidoof waddled out from the shrubbery to their left, and Harry sighed quietly, uninterested.

Eevee and Scooby settled at a stand-down signal, and Nasrin watched as the Plump Mouse Pokemon pawed at the ground, adding nuts to the stores in his cheeks.

A strange whistle caught their attention then, and the pair looked up as a flash of white darted across the dark sky overhead.

Eevee scrunched down on his perch, attempting to become as small and invisible as possible, while Scooby fell into a crouch under some leafy shrubbery, motionless.

The white shape circled back around to their chosen clearing before diving down, and the Bidoof let out a cry of surprise as the bird Pokemon struck true.

The waddling Normal-type was sent tumbling head-over-tail into a tree, dazed, but Harry's attention was fixed on the new arrival with clear interest.

 _A Hoothoot_.

Unlike most of her fellows, this one was pure white instead of brown and cream, tufts of black feathers decorating her back, and Nasrin nodded at his look.

Harry raised a hand, flashing three fingers, and Eevee moved.

The Evolution Pokemon leapt down from his perch, tackling the albino Hoothoot before she could so much as turn her head, and sending her rolling across the clearing.

The Owl Pokemon lashed out almost immediately with her retracted talons, and Eevee cried out as he was hit, earning a howl from Scooby.

"Sand Attack!"

Sending up a plume of grit, the Hoothoot began to flap about, shaking her head to clear away the irritant, and missed on her next dive.

"Quick Attack!"

Eevee managed to strike the other Pokemon, but Scooby yelped when his friend began to wilt as the Hoothoot looked upon him.

"Look away!"

But it was too late, Hypnosis had already put the Normal-type to sleep, and Harry recalled him as Nasrin reacted.

"Scooby, Rock Throw!"

As the Rock-type tried to pin down their prey, Harry threw out another Poke Ball.

"Togetic, I choose you!"

The Hoothoot paused, surprised by this new arrival.

"Togetic, use Ember!"

This blow struck true, knocking her down, but the Hoothoot retaliated with a Confusion that hit Togetic dead-on.

Holding her head to fight off the effects, the Happiness Pokemon shook her head and glared.

"Alright, we finish this now! Togetic, use Thunderbolt!"

The sky crackled with electricity, and the albino Pokemon cried out as the bolt struck, bouncing off the forest floor a few times before stopping, wings twitching with the effects of paralysis.

Harry took this opportunity to throw a Poke Ball, and the thirteen-year-olds watched in surprise as it shook only once before clicking in success.

Togetic chirped as Scooby trotted up to them, Ball in mouth.

 _Harry Potter call for Dobby?_ The Alakazam projected mentally, smiling as he was called out.

A long summer had done wonders for the Psychic-type, and Nasrin was happy to see the once-fearful Pokemon now so confident.

"Dobby, we're done with the hunt. Can you see if Remus is done?"

Dobby shut his eyes for a moment, concentrating, as he called out to the Gym Evaluator's Reuniclus.

 _Nice Remus Lupin is done, Good Harry Potter_.

"Teleport us there, please." Nasrin ordered, grabbing onto Harry's hand to brace for the usual dizziness.

While Dobby had happily teleported Harry to the Crystal Temple and her to Remus' home quite often over the summer, the whole affair was still rather disorienting.

Togetic clung to Nasrin's curls, eyes spinning, as Scooby collapsed over Harry's feet with a whine.

"Thanks, Dobby." Harry managed, recalling both his Alakazam and Togetic while she did the same to Scooby.

"Any luck?" Remus wondered, reaching out to steady the young teenagers while Moony the Zorua trotted around their ankles.

"You first." Harry responded as both handed over all their Poke Balls to the Nurse Joy on duty.

"Fair enough." The man agreed, holding up his arm.

A Spinarak scurried down, lowering himself on a silken thread from Remus' wrist, and Harry laughed at the way he bounced like a yoyo.

"Definitely some kind of new pigmentation in this area." Remus stated, flicking his wrist so Spinarak could cling to his arm and be inspected more easily. "On most Spinarak, the shell has a design meant to mimic, for lack of a better word, a frowny face. This little guy must have decided that wasn't very cheery."

Where a black frown would have been was instead a smile, and Nasrin cooed, petting the tiny spider.

"Definitely interesting."

"That it is." Harry agreed, accepting his Poke Balls from Nurse Joy first. "But I'm afraid I've got you beat."

He tossed up the newly-inhabited Poke Ball, and the Hoothoot circled around to land on Harry's shoulder.

"An albino!" Remus exclaimed.

"Oh my!" The Nurse Joy agreed. "You are truly blessed."

"Oh, I don't know about that…" Harry answered with a shrug. "I mean, it was lucky for me to catch her-"

"Harry, you don't understand." Remus corrected with a wide smile. "A Hoothoot is a rather popular Pokemon in Avalon, but an _albino_ one? That kind is honored."

"What do you mean?" Nasrin wondered as the boy scratched under said Hoothoot's chin.

"It's said that Morgan Le Fay owned an albino Hoothoot." The Nurse Joy explained. "In fact, it's said that it was that Pokemon's evolved form that flew her across the sea to Avalon, so she could seek out Merlin and test her might against him."

"Really?" Both chorused, surprised.

"I've never heard that." Harry admitted.

"Yes, you have." The man replied with a sad sigh. "You just don't remember. The story of Morgan and Hedwig is told to all children in Avalon. I know for a fact your father read it to you when you were a baby."

The albino Hoothoot let out a cry, flapping her wings, and Nasrin ducked away to avoid getting a face-full of feathers.

"What is it?" Harry asked, running his hand along her feathery belly.

"Do you like that name?"

Another happy cry, and Remus shrugged at their look.

"Nothing says you can't use the name."

"Alright, then, I guess from now on your name is Hedwig." The boy decided, and Nasrin reached out to smooth the happy Pokemon's feathers with a smile.

"Welcome to the family, Hedwig."


	3. Chapter 3

Prince let out a pleased growl as Harry ran a hand through his gray mane, curling tighter around the trainers' backs, and Snow's ear twitched their way as she conversed with Ludwig only a few feet away in a patch of sunlight.

Squishie was just as comfortable in Dobby's lap, letting the Alakazam scratch his belly and behind his ears with little more than a purr, while Togetic zipped past with Squeakers on her back, both laughing as a flock of colorful Butterfree took chase.

Twisting in the air, Robin pulled out of a dive inches from the grass, cawing triumphantly as Hedwig chirped, swooping up to copy the maneuver herself.

Tossing up her trick-ball, Star smacked it with her tail and watched as Eevee and Scooby took off after it, tackling and tripping each other the whole way, unable to keep from giggling.

Thanks to the constant ocean breezes, Litore Island was not half as humid as mainland Avalon, and the forest not nearly as dense, leaving plenty of safe space for their Pokemon to play.

"Ready to see everyone again?" Nasrin wondered, petting down the large Normal-type's coarse fur.

"More ready for that than having Remus as our professor." Harry admitted with a shrug, fingers curling up under the helmet's lip to scratch until a happy rumble escaped.

"Even Hermione?"

The half-Gem sighed at his silence, swaying closer to bump shoulders.

"I know you're not mad at her anymore."

"I'm not." He replied, bumping back. "It's just…I saw her yesterday at Flourish and Blott's, and it was…weird. I don't trust her, but it hurts not to, and when I think of just forgiving her…"

"You think of Lockheart." She surmised, empathetic. "I do, too."

While the anger had dimmed to embers, there was no forgetting that Hermione had betrayed them at a crucial moment, even if she had been mind-wiped over and over by Lockheart's Hypno.

Eevee, Ludwig and Togetic were as much her Pokemon as his, in some ways, just like hers were his, and knowing that Hermione had taken them once…

Well, there was a reason Nasrin had gotten special rigs to hide her Poke Balls up the sleeves of her new jacket and in her boots, on top of carrying around Rose Quartz's sword everywhere.

"Luna was with her." Harry redirected, Robin and Hedwig swooping down to land on each shoulder. "Apparently, they're 'bestest best friends' now."

"Really? I'd think that would be Ginny…"

"All I know is that Hermione went on a trip with the Lovegoods to Kalos, and Luna kept bopping me in the shin with her cane. Something about 'bros before hoes'."

Choking back laughter, Nasrin bit her lip in a vain attempt not to smile, stars shining in her eyes as Togetic landed on her long ponytail with Squeakers.

"That sounds like Luna."

Harry snorted a laugh, silently agreeing, and she giggled.

 _Things would be different, of course, but they still had each other_.


	4. Chapter 4

"Harry! Neville!"

Both boys turned as Nasrin jogged across the train platform, Star swaying on her shoulder while Scooby and Snow flanked her at an easy lope.

"Hey, Nazz." Neville greeted at her approach, politely saying nothing when she hopped up to give Harry a peck in hello. "How was your summer?"

"Great!" The half-Gem chirped, fingers threading with his naturally. "We got to practice Fusion, and I got a new Pokemon! How about you?"

"It was good." The Longbottom replied, reaching down to itch Flora between the ears and earning a happy bark.

When he moved to peel back the Ivysaur's petals, Star yipped in surprise as a tiny pair of eyes blinked out at them from within.

"Oh, sorry about that!" Neville apologized with a chuckle, cupping his hands to gently retrieve the tiny Pokemon that had been hiding in Flora's bulb. "Puck here keeps trying to slip away."

"Puck?" Harry asked, curious.

"My Flabebe. I found her in the greenhouse a few weeks ago and managed to catch her. Gran was excited because she has the Flower Veil ability, which protects Grass-types. She thinks her and Flora might make good tag-team partners."

"I'd think so." Nasrin agreed as the Longbottom returned the squirming Fairy to her hiding spot with a little wave.

"She's pretty cool, Neville." Harry added, smiling.

"I can't wait to show you our new Pokemon."

Neville nodded along, but hesitated.

"Hey, if it isn't my place to ask, just ignore me, but…You and Remus looked pretty heated when you were talking a moment ago. Everything okay?"

Blinking in surprise, the pinkette tipped her head back to look at Harry as the boy shrugged, reaching down to scratch Scooby behind the ears.

"Yeah, it's fine, Neville. Remus was just giving me the Talk."

"Oh, god, right here?!" Ron exclaimed as he ran up with Ginny. "Right on the platform?"

"Well, yeah." The Potter replied, confused. "I mean, I wish he hadn't done it in such a public place…"

"Wish?" Ginny spat in disgust. "If my parents try to give me The Talk in public next year, I'll throw such a fit Child Services will be involved!"

"Isn't that a little extreme?" Nasrin wondered, brow furrowing. "I mean, Peridot gave me the Talk just a few minutes ago before having to go catch a Gem Mutant, and it wasn't that bad."

"Isn't talking about the Beedrill and the Spearow in the middle of a crowded train station extreme?" Ron countered.

"No wonder you two were tense." Neville agreed.

Both Harry and Nasrin blinked at their friends, thunderstruck.

"What?"

"No, that's not what we meant!" The half-Gem corrected.

"We didn't have The Talk, it was the Talk. You know, buckle down, study hard…"

"I expect better grades from you, don't goof off."

"That one."

"OH…" The trio replied, blinking back.

"Yeah, that makes more sense." Ron admitted, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Yeah, sorry." Ginny agreed. "Mum and dad are giving all of us that Talk, too."

"Really?" Harry replied, startled.

"Yeah. Percy is Head Boy this year, and mum is disappointed that us 'four youngsters' aren't doing better." Ron explained. "Bill was also Head Boy, and Charlie barely missed out. Her and dad want us all to shape up and do better. Of course, thanks to Fred and George, the pressure is off me and Gin just a bit."

"My gran gave me the same speech." Neville admitted. "Except instead of grades, she wants me to be more outgoing. Not that she thinks you guys are terrible! She's thrilled all of you are my friends, she just wants me to do more stuff. Join some clubs or something. She said my dad was really outgoing…"

The shy boy trailed off, and Nasrin placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort as Snow leaned against one leg, quiet support.

Last year, before the summer break, Neville had divulged that his parents were in the hospital, and piecing this together with Voldemort's monologue was all she needed to know.

 _Next time that wraith showed his possessed face, Nasrin was going to punch him right out_.

"Guess we're all getting the Talk." Harry redirected, squeezing her hand.

"I see someone who probably didn't." Ron noted coolly. "Hermione."

The bushy-haired girl ducked her head, quiet.

"Hello-"

"Charlie Murphy!"

Thwick!

Thwick!

Thwick!

Thwick!

Thwick!

"OW!"

Nasrin blinked, looking down at where the cane had struck her shin, as the others clutched their abused legs and bounced.

"Luna!" Hermione shouted as the blonde spun her cane triumphantly. "I thought I told you not to hit them!"

"I know…That was _COLDBLOODED_!" Luna sang out at the end, patting Neville on the cheek. "I'm Luna Lovegood, baby. Enjoy yourself!"

"Luna..." Hermione started, rubbing the bridge of her nose as Nasrin reached over to give the others healing kisses. "I know you want them to forgive me, but they aren't if you keep hitting them!"

"Bloody hell, Luna!" Ron cursed, fists clenched. "What the-?"

"CU CU!"

The Weasley fell back on his butt, wide-eyed, as a tiny, skull-wearing Pokemon leapt onto his chest, brandishing a bone-club.

"Ronald." Luna began politely, leaning over him and placing an extended pinky by her mouth. "Meet my new Pokemon. I call her…Mini Me."

"Luna Junior." Hermione elaborated.

The half-Veela picked up her Cubone, cuddling the Ground-type, but Luna Junior merely glared at the group and gripped her bone-club, twisting it in her hands to mime strangling.

"She's so protective of me and my bestest best friend Hermione, so please be careful and don't say anything that might sound like a threat. Don't worry, though, know that her violent outbursts are out of friendship!"

Snow and Scooby peeked out from behind their trainers' legs, and Star blinked as Luna Junior pointed at the group before drawing a little paw across her throat.

"That means 'I love you'!"

"Doesn't that usually mean, 'I'm going to murder you in your sleep'?" Nasrin mused, a touch baffled by this whole conversation.

"We'll, uh, go find a seat on the train." Hermione voiced, gently pushing Luna towards the Express.

"Bye, hoes!"

…

"So, I think this is the year we'll all die." Ginny deduced.

"Every year is the year I almost die." Harry muttered. "Won't be that different."

Nasrin giggled, scooping up her nervous Pokemon.

"Might even be nice to have some company for a change."


	5. Chapter 5

"So, what exactly is this app?" Harry asked as Nasrin looked over the download on her Pokedex, curious.

"Just something I put together during the summer." Ginny answered, wirelessly sending Neville the download. "Thought it might be a great way to pass the time. You can only play so many rounds of Electrode Explosion."

"Yeah, but that's why some of us bring other things." Neville pointed out, gesturing to Hermione, who was reading a book on her own Pokedex.

"But this is actually going to be fun!" Ron countered, and Hermione glanced up, saying nothing.

While Neville held no ill will towards her, and Luna was firmly on her side, she knew it was only goodwill that had gotten her a seat in their cabin.

Still, Star leaned over and whacked Ron over the head for that one.

"It's a Bingo app." Ginny explained proudly. "I made the touch screen the playing screen, and created a random square generator so each board will be completely different! Best of all, the squares are completely custom categories that apply to the train ride. All we have to do is enjoy the ride like we normally do, and when something happens, check the appropriate square!"

Reading the squares, Nasrin smiled at finding 'Ron Will Burp Three Times', 'A Pelipper Will Fly Past', and 'A Hufflepuff Will Mistake Our Cabin For Theirs' as some of the options.

"I also created some for when we're at Hogwarts, during a Gauntlet match, so on and so on. We can play all year long, and no one will even know it but the six-seven of us!" Ginny corrected at the last moment.

Ron looked over at Hermione, quietly reading, and groaned.

"Oh come on, that was almost a guaranteed mark!"

Harry leaned over and tried not to laugh at a box on Ron's screen that read 'Hermione Will Tell Us Not To Do Something'.

"Bloody hell, mate, I-"

The bushy-haired looked up, smiling, and checked a box.

"Ron will be the first to swear." She stated simply, already returning to her book.

Ron shouted in frustration, stomping his feet, as everyone else laughed.

Even with that outburst, the group soon settled down, Nasrin's and Harry's Pokemon popping out of their Balls to join them.

Luna and Hermione took up one bench, sitting back-to-back with Luna Junior polishing her bone club by the latter's feet while Crookshanks took his usual place in the bushy-haired girl's lap, dozing.

Neville and Ginny sat opposite, the Longbottom showing his younger friend how to prune and maintain Flora's petals, while Harry, Nasrin and Ron took up the floor amid all the Pokemon.

Prince had been wary, at first, but eventually settled as a backrest behind his two trusted humans while Robin and Hedwig chirped to each other from Harry's shoulders and Togetic cuddled with Squeakers on Nasrin's lap, half-asleep.

Dobby had Star, Squishie, Eevee, Scooby and Snow in his lap, happily scratching behind ears and carding through fur, while Ludwig floated around the half-Gem's head, content.

Harry and Ron were going over the latest Gauntlet standings while she watched random videos, leaning into the former's shoulder and giggling at funny clips.

The only time they all did something together was if someone checked a mark on their Bingo app, earning demands to know what happened, every few minutes.

Nasrin found herself doing rather well, actually; she had spotted a Pelipper, and a Second Year Hufflepuff had mistaken their cabin for his, even if the candy cart had plenty of Koffing Cakes and Ron had yet to fart.

"What are you two reading?" Neville eventually asked, offering his pinky to Puck so the Flabebe could grab on and be moved to another section of Flora's closed bulb.

"A book about Veelas I picked up in Kalos." Hermione answered, and Luna grinned.

"She wants to help me with my powers. I try to study, but I get distracted when I can't find Waldo."

Harry and Nasrin both clicked the 'Luna Makes A Comment I Don't Understand' box.

"It's all really interesting." The bushy-haired girl continued. "The author believes that all the Pokemon Arts deal with a single aspect of Human-Pokemon relations and interactions. Veelas, for example, deal with the emotion aspect of interaction, while Speakers deal with actual communication, Pokemagnus are all about the physical, and the Dreamers deal with unconscious thoughts. Of course, Elemental Benders are a bit trickier, and no one is really quite sure what Distortion Walkers actually do. And Aura Knights just take things for a complete loop when it comes to spiritual energy…"

"I only understood every fourth word in that sentence." Ron complained, and Hermione smiled, subtly clicking a box on her own Bingo app.

"The point is that Veelas are able to sense emotions and effect and distort them. Legends about sirens can be traced back to Veela pirates who used their powers to draw men in so they could plunder their ships."

Harry frowned, likely wondering about his own problems looking at the half-Veela, and Nasrin realized that she had been so desperate for friends that her powers had subconsciously drawn people in to pay attention to her.

Seeing the blonde squirm, both offered up a smile, and Luna returned the expression in kind.

"Well, Luna, what are you reading?" Neville redirected.

"Oh, just daddy's newspaper."

"Anything interesting?"

Even Nasrin turned around to give Harry an incredulous look.

"What?"

"You've never read the Quibbler, have you?" Ron deduced.

"Uh, no, not really." The Potter admitted. "I mostly just use the Holo Cast. Why?"

"Well, let's just say that the Quibbler is never dull." Ginny explained diplomatically.

"Oh, yes, daddy is quite proud that everything he publishes is thought-provoking, shocking, and a hundred percent factual, from a certain point of view."

"From a certain point of view?" Harry and Nasrin echoed together.

"Yes." Luna answered cheerily. "That's such a magical phrase. It allows me to claim a relative of yours is dead when I really chopped off his legs and one of his arms and left him to burn next to a lava river."

Both stared at the blonde blankly.

"Also, be careful who you date, because it could be your twin sister who was hidden to protect you from the emperor."

"What emperor?" Nasrin asked despite herself.

"The one that rules Sevii Island, of course."

"Luna, Sevii is ruled by a lord, not an emperor." Hermione corrected.

"Well, of course! Everyone knows that, Hermione!"

Luna looked to the others, doing the universal sign for 'crazy', and Hermione bit her tongue, accepting the loss.

"The better question is, why is he here in Avalon?"

"An emperor is here in Avalon?" Ron asked, confused.

"No, he's busy getting a new groove. The Lord of Sevii is here, though, according to daddy." Luna answered, sending the article directly to all their Pokedexes.

 **Lord of Sevii Roams Avalon Countryside!**

By Xeno Lovegood

Terrified villagers are flooding their local Poke Shops looking to stock up on pitchforks and torches after the Lord of Sevii was spotted with his entourage of Dusknoir this past weekend. No one is quite sure why the mysterious Lord is in Avalon (though faithful readers know the Lord isn't that mysterious, as he is actually famed Rockstar/astrophysicist/heartthrob Stubby Boardman).

The dark fellow, who is never spotted without his skull mask, has been seen by several Avalon residents committing vagrants acts of mopery.

"Wait, you think mopery means that?!" Exclaimed one horrified eyewitness who spotted the Lord disappearing into an alley. "What is wrong with you?"

She went on, clearly distressed to the point of sanity. Other villagers who spotted the Lord report that he was stalking through towns, watching several Gyms before using his Dusknoir as cover for his escape. None of the witnesses have been able to get close enough to the Lord of Sevii to ask him why he is in Avalon, or if it was indeed he who put the bop in the bop shoo bop.

When asked about the Lord of Sevii, one villager told us, "I don't know why he was lurking around. Now, do you want fries with your burger or not?"

We here at the Quibbler suspect that there is a greater conspiracy at hand. Reaching out to officials has only caused them to throw up blockades against the pursuit of the truth.

"Xeno, what are you doing in my bathtub?" Amos Diggory told this reporter when confronted with evidence of the coverup. "Seriously, we're all worried about you. We think you might be suffering brain damage."

The Quibbler remains dedicated to solving this mystery, and will continue to follow up on this story until a famous person does something more interesting.

 **Click Here to read a timeline of Stubby Boardman**

 **Click Here to find out about the long history of Mopery, the Silent Killer**

 **Click Here for compromising photos of Amos Diggory and Xeno Lovegood together in the shower**

 **Ar, Click Here, matey, to hear this article read by a scurvy pirate**

Nasrin rubbed at her eyes, trying to make sense of what she just read, as Hedwig and Robin shared an incredulous look.

"Wow."

"Isn't it nice to know that there's a paper out there reporting on the truth?" Luna voiced with a dreamy smile.

"He's actually very nice." Hermione assured in the face of everyone's skepticism. "Very smart and funny. Don't judge him by his paper."

Harry glanced her way, and the bushy-haired girl ducked her head to avoid meeting his eyes.

"Yes, daddy so does hate it when people get star-struck by him." Luna agreed, covering for her friend.

"So…" Ginny started after a few moments. "Why do you think the Lord of Sevii is in Avalon?"

"You think he really is?" Harry wondered.

"The Quibbler might go off on weird tangents, but it's never wrong when it comes to the seeds of truth." Neville answered. "The Lord of Sevii is here in Avalon, that much is for certain."

"My theory is that he's trying to find Claire Bennett before Sylar takes her brain."

The half-Veela placed a hand on Nasrin's shoulder.

"Save the cheerleader, save the world."

"We'll remember that." She assured, giggling.

"Yatta."

"He's probably here for a Meet and Greet." Ron reasoned as Prince lifted his head. "I heard most of the Team Nocturne grunts that were captured ended up on Sevii. Makes sense he'd want to come visit, and try and get more money to hold them."

"But he hasn't had the need to visit other regions." Neville reminded him. "Most of the Meet and Greets are done by Jack Kenway."

"And if he were doing a Meet and Greet, why would he bring the Dusknoir?" Ginny added, shuddering.

"You okay?" Nasrin worried.

"You aren't afraid of Ghost-types, are you?" Harry added.

"You know I'm not." The female Weasley replied, shaking her head. "Ludwig is very nice, and Linus and Stumper are also cute. Dusknoir are a different story, though. I mean, have you read the analysis of them? Creepy."

Nasrin tried to remember what she learned about the Dusknoir line when the cabin door whooshed open, all seven heads turning to stare at the new arrivals.

"Well, looks like we found where to toss our trash." Draco stated with a laugh, throwing a crumpled chip bag on the floor.

Crabbe and Goyle flanked him as always, with Pansy at his side, a tight-lipped smile on her puckered face.

"Malfoy, how horrible to see you again." Nasrin greeted, sugar-sweet, knowing that Ginny at least would keep Ron from shooting off his mouth.

"Could you please tell your father that I'm absolutely loving Dobby, and I'm very thankful for the trade." Harry continued dryly. "I hope he's enjoying the Pokemon I sent him."

Draco's face went red with rage, though it was Pansy that spoke.

"You're nothing more than a liar, Potter! Mister Malfoy came to you, wanting to help, and you betrayed him!"

"Really now?" Nasrin replied easily, Squeaker's cheek-sacs sparking as Robin and Hedwig eyed the Slytherins like tasty morsels. "Even _if_ Mister Malfoy was trying to help, it's not _our_ fault he failed to check what Pokemon he was trading for."

"Also, you should show Harry more respect." Luna pointed out.

"Shut it, Looney." Goyle shot back.

Flora and Luna Junior sprung towards the intruders, barely restraining themselves, and Draco wrestled his temper down.

"Control your pests, Longbottom. We wouldn't want me having to tell my father that you can't control them. He'd be forced to put them down."

Growls rumbled from their once-resting Pokemon as Hermione clicked another box on her Bingo app.

"Bingo."

"There's no need to be rude or violent." Luna elaborated easily. "I was merely pointing out that Harry is the descendent of your House's Founder. That means he's sort of you lord and master."

Draco's jaw clenched so tight, it was a wonder his teeth failed to shatter.

"Don't you _dare_ disgrace the great Salazar Slytherin by claiming Potter here is his Heir."

"Claim nothing." Harry stated simply, standing. "I'm the Heir of Slytherin, Malfoy."

"Then maybe it's time to wipe that line out."

"By you?" Nasrin countered, already at Harry's side.

"It'll take someone that can actually battle to beat me." Harry agreed, glaring.

"Watch your mouth." Pansy warned, hand on a Poke Ball, and Prince stepped between the Gryffindors, towering over the collection of Third Years.

"Watch yours, Parkinson." Ron shot back, moving to stand on Harry's other side.

"You've insulted my betrothed." Neville warned, on Nasrin's left, while Ginny pulled out a Poke Ball and Hermione moved to shield Luna. "If I ever hear you or one of your goons call Luna that name again, I'll declare a Blood Feud between House Longbottom and House Malfoy, and I doubt your father wants that, what with everything else he's dealing with."

"And don't think I've forgotten your transgressions against House Rose Quartz." Nasrin reminded the Slytherin, Star glaring from one shoulder while Scooby, Snow, Eevee and Squishie growled around her feet.

"And I'll be right behind them." Harry promised, leaning in close to hiss the next words. "We all know it wasn't Cho that unleashed Zygarde. I remember who the blame lies with, and I'm not going to forget anytime soon."

"And I'm not going to forget who cost my family all that we've lost." Draco hissed back.

"We're stopping." Hermione voiced, and Nasrin paused, realizing it was not about the argument. "Why are we stopping? We're still an hour away from Hogwarts."

Draco opened his mouth but, spotting something from the corner of one eye, merely gave the group a final glare and stalked off, entourage in tow.

Moments later, Remus entered their cabin, face stern and lips pursed.

"We didn't start it!" Ron blurted.

Nasrin sensed this was not about the Slytherins, however, and Harry agreed.

"What is it? Why did the train stop?"

Remus looked over the seven Gryffindors a moment before answering.

"Dusknoir have surrounded the train."

Ginny let out a whimper at this, and Snow moved to guard the youngest Weasley as Harry and Nasrin turned to look out the window at the grassy fields surrounding the Hogwarts Express-

A gray, featureless face and red eye filled the glass, peering in for a moment before floating away, and Prince snarled, stepping protectively in front of his favored humans while Luna Junior leapt onto her own trainer's lap, growling.

"Why are they here?" Ron asked nervously as Togetic and Squeakers clung tightly to Nasrin's curls, Ludwig floating protectively over them.

"The Lord of Sevii has commanded the train to stop." Remus answered, tone even and measured. "He's stated that he won't let us pass until his demand is met."

"And what's his demand?" Hermione wondered, uncertain.

Nasrin felt a prickle of dread down her spine at the look on their new Battle Professor's face, hand curling around Star's ruffles.

"He wants to talk to you two. Alone."


	6. Chapter 6

Nasrin found that Ginny's strong dislike of Dusknoir was not unfounded.

Scooby and Snow shifted, gazes locked on the Ghost-types that floated nearby, and Prince pawed at the grass aggressively, Squishie growling from the large Normal-type's back.

Tightening his grip on her hand, Harry eyed the expressionless Pokemon uneasily, Robin clacking her beak in upset from his shoulder.

Remus was only a few yards away, arguing with the Auror that had been sent to escort them, but it was clear she was not swayed by anything he said.

Unlike the blue-haired, professional Jennys they were used to, this Auror looked more like a stereotypical punk, which was not helped by her dyed hair, leather pants, and red leather jacket.

Her entire stance screamed casualness, and she kept tossing a Poke Ball absentmindedly, only smiling when her Rotom gave Moony a little shock for growling.

Nasrin turned her attention away when Harry pulled out his Pokedex, a little smile breaking through despite his upset at an email from Hermione with an entire guide on Ghost-types.

 _Even when fighting, the bushy-haired Gryffindor thought nothing of helping them out with research_.

The article explained that there were three subspecies of Ghosts, each with their own training quirks and dangers for inexperienced trainers.

First, and most well-known, were Formless Ghosts like the Gastly line, who had a standard shape but had the loosest molecular structure, allowing them to stretch and squish or inflate themselves at will.

They were most known for being horrible pranksters, their biology making it hard for them to stay still, and often tormented trainers.

The pair looked up to see Rotom making faces behind Remus' back and silently agreed with this assessment.

Next were the Possessed Ghosts, who had completely solid bodies animated with ghostly energy, and were thus the exact opposite of their Formless brethren.

This made it easier for them to focus, and thus easier to train, but this did not necessarily make them any safer, since most 'hauntings' could be attributed to them.

Nasrin knew that Ludwig, and eventually Robin, would be this type.

The most dangerous of all, however, and most pertinent to their situation, were the Shelled Ghosts.

A blend of the former two, they had the same loose molecular structure while using solid matter as a focal point, hiding their true forms behind a casing before dragging some unsuspecting prey in.

These were known to be unpredictable and hard to train because of this, and Dusknoir were a prime example.

 _The half-Gem shifted uncomfortably at the thought that Amethyst's adorably-clumsy Mimikyu also counted as a Shelled Ghost, and was thus dangerous as well_.

Harry and Nasrin shuffled closer, surrounded by their watchful Pokemon, and read the highlighted section.

Duskull and their evolved form, Dusclops, are not overly dangerous to trainers. Duskull is too small to do much to even a child, while Dusclops' wrappings, while frightening to some, make it hard for it to draw in a trainer. Studies have found that Dusclops are only able to open their fabric cases a few inches due to the unstable nature of their inner ectoplasmic forms. This means that any attempts to draw in large prey would result in the Dusclops disintegrating. It is Dusknoir that poses the greatest threat to a trainer. When a Dusclops is able to gather enough energy (such as when traded) and have in their possession certain fabrics that contain the proper molecular structure (what is now referred to as a 'Reaper Cloth'), they are able to stabilize their ectoplasmic forms and evolve into Dusknoir. This new, stable body allows Dusknoir to hold its shape even when opening its mouth, which is located on what many mistake for their stomachs. Dusknoir is, in fact, a large head with arms-

Impatient, Nasrin reached over to skip the next few paragraphs to reach something relevant.

The Dusknoir of Sevii Island are the most dangerous of all the Dusknoir variants due to their possession of the Ability Emotion Manipulation. Sevii Dusknoir are able to project auras that alter the emotions of Pokemon and humans. While they have been known to cause victims of this aura to fall into fits of laughter or become enraged, fear is the most common emotion the Dusknoir will create. This is a type of hunting tactic, as it allows Dusknoir to paralyze their prey so they might consume it. This consumption, known as the Dusknoir's Kiss, results in Dusknoir drawing their victim into their cloth shell and draining them of all emotion and thought, leaving them in a blank, emotionless state that ancient Avalonians equated to the destruction of one's soul. There are some that believe these shells are the origins of the zombie myth-

Nasrin squeaked when a hand landed on her shoulder, Harry nearly leaping out of his skin, and both whipped around to face a concerned Remus.

"Are you-?"

"Fine." Harry choked out, embarrassed.

"We're great." Nasrin agreed, pressing a hand to her rabbiting heart.

"Absolutely fantastic."

Remus hardly seemed to believe them, but since the pinkette's Pokemon were already riled enough, decided not to press.

"I'm sorry, Harry, Nazz. I tried to talk to Auror Tonks, but she refuses to budge." He explained, shooting the young woman a glare. "Apparently, the Lord of Sevii is throwing his weight around, and demands to talk to you at once."

"Why us?" Harry asked, and Nasrin squeezed his hand, frowning.

They understood that a person who was essentially blackmailing them into a meeting with a horde of Dusknoir _might_ not have their best interests at heart.

"He claims that since your father fought in the war and your mother defeated Voldemort, and Sevii is holding several of Team Nocturne's lieutenants, that he should speak with you."

"But you don't think that's the real reason." The half-Gem deduced, wary.

"No." Remus answered bluntly, teeth grinding. "I want you both to be on your guard. If you think for even a moment he's trying anything funny, you get Dobby to port you out. If he can't, fight like hell and run. I'm already contacting a few people that owe me favors. I don't have the pull the Lord has, but we have the Gems. If he wants to try us, I'll give him a war."

The Third Years nodded, more at ease knowing that Remus and the Crystal Gems were at their back.

"Where are we meeting him?" Harry asked, petting down Robin's ruffled feathers.

"Luckily, you don't have to go far." The scarred man explained, a touch relieved. "He's using that old farmhouse over there. The owners left for the day and he set up shop. You'll still be in sight of all of us, and Moony will have an ear out for you."

"Come on, you two." Auror Tonks called, walking over to playfully nudge their shoulders. "Some of us aren't getting any younger."

Remus shot her another dirty look before looking Harry and Nasrin in the eyes.

"Don't let your guard down for a second, okay? The Lord of Sevii is a powerful, dangerous man. Treat him as such. Give him respect, but never your trust."

"We will." The thirteen-year-olds chorused, and Harry turned to their escort.

"Alright, lead the way."

The young woman smiled and bid Remus a cheery goodbye, leading them out of earshot before starting to laugh.

"Merlin, it's fun to tweak that man!"

She stumbled over a root in her mirth, barely catching herself from face-planting on the grass.

"Don't mind me, a bit of a klutz. So, any idea why the Lord wants to see us?"

"Us?" Harry and Nasrin echoed, confused.

"Yeah, you two and me. Can't be an us without more than one person."

"I thought the Lord of Sevii wanted to just see _us_." Nasrin voiced, gesturing between herself and the boy while Scooby, Snow and Squishie glared at the growing cloud of Dusknoir.

"You honestly think my boss would send me all by myself to guard you and deal with the Lord of Sevii?" Tonks snorted. "I'm barely out of the Academy, and you're Lily Potter's kid and Rose Quartz! I wasn't even in the top of my class! She wanted to send a whole platoon, but the Lord vetoed that, apparently. The fact that she sent me tells me he picked me out personally. So, any ideas why the big scary Lord of Sevii wants to see us?"

"No idea." Harry admitted.

"Remus thinks it's a trap." Nasrin agreed.

"Yeah, he told me that. I told him that I can't really just shrug my shoulders and let you all go on your merry way. Not like I control the Dusknoir. Besides, I have the Minister breathing down my boss' neck, which means Madame Bones is breathing down mine. Not a good idea to piss off a member of the Elite Four, let me tell you."

The swarm of Dusknoir grew thicker as they approached the farmhouse, and Prince rumbled threateningly.

"Hey, do you two have any Pokemon that are good against Ghost-types?" Tonks wondered, shrugging at their side-eyed looks. "Just trying to plan ahead. Believe it or not, there's a brain in this pretty head of mine."

Nasrin nodded, unable to keep from liking the Auror, and gestured to each of her current companions.

"Prince here knows Pursuit. Scooby knows Bite and Odor Sleuth. Snow knows Confuse Ray, Payback, Feint Attack, Hex and Extrasensory. Squishie knows Brutal Swing and Payback. And Robin knows Ominous Wind and Astonish."

Harry nodded, tossing out two Poke Balls.

"Eevee knows Shadow Ball. Hedwig knows Thief."

"Wotcher, now that's brilliant!" Tonks praised, recalling her Rotom and letting out a second Pokemon. "Castform. Trained him myself. Everyone assumes that he's just a gimmicky Pokemon, used mostly to show off or entertain kids, but me and Castie here pack some real firepower. And water power."

"Hopefully, we won't need it." Harry muttered as Nasrin reached back to drum her fingers across the hilt of her sheathed sword.

The Dusknoir watched them approach silently, not even blinking, and both knew that any attempt to flee would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

"So…" Tonks drawled, staring at the closed front door. "You think we should knock or something?"

Not even a second later, said door creaked open, and all three stared.

"Okay, am I the only one getting slasher film vibes?"

"Nope." Nasrin answered truthfully, grip firm on her blade now.

"Not just you." Harry agreed, gripping Ludwig's Ball.

The teenagers followed on Tonks' heels as she stepped inside, Scooby yelping when the door slammed shut behind them.

"Did you come alone?" A voice hissed from the living room to their right, and there was the Lord of Sevii, sitting with a casual grace while petting the bone plates of a Houndour that sat obediently beside him.

He was wearing all black, a white skull mask hiding his face, and Prince lowered his head warily as Scooby, Eevee, Snow and Squishie moved to stand in front of their trainers, Robin brandishing her leaf-quills and Hedwig puffing up her feathers.

"Just the three of us." Tonks confirmed. "Just like you asked. Now, mind telling us what you want?"

The Lord said nothing, staring, and Nasrin took a step in front of Harry when she realized who that gaze was settled on.

"Listen, I get lusting after me, but keep looking at the boy-" Tonks growled.

"You look just like him." He whispered, and the half-Gem paused at the pain and longing in those words. "Except the eyes. You have Lily-Flower's eyes."

Harry trembled, grip tightening on her hand.

"What…What did you say?"

In answer, the Lord of Sevii ripped off his mask and tossed it aside, revealing deep, expressive eyes, a regal, bearded face and a half-smiling mouth that were so at odds with his earlier impression, and Harry relaxed in surprise.

"To hell with Jack, I can't play this game anymore!" He declared, almost relieved. "Merlin, look at you…You two were barely able to stand up the last time I saw you, and Nymphie! I kept expecting to see the same little tyke that loved piggyback rides to come in here…But time's moved on, and you've changed, but I suppose, so have I. You've become such a beautiful young woman, but still have to dye your hair, I see! Must give Andy fits!"

Nasrin turned at a pull in her Gem, and found tears streaming down Tonks' cheeks, paralyzed in a whirlwind of emotion.

"You…You can't be here…" She managed to choke out. "This is a trick or a lie…I…I don't…"

The Lord held up a Poke Ball, which released a regal Empoleon to stand sentry on his other side as he laughed.

"Is that proof enough for you, Nymphie?"

Tonks took a step forward, hands trembling as if wanting to embrace the man and afraid that doing so would make him disappear, and Nasrin let go of her sword when he opened his arms and held on when the Auror launched herself forward.

"Sh…It's okay, baby girl, it's okay…"

"Sirius…"

"Sirius?" Harry echoed, and the half-Gem stepped back, eyes wide, with their Pokemon.

"In name, but hardly ever in personality!" The man joked, keeping an arm around Tonks as he looked at Harry, unable to form words for a few frustrating moments. "I've been trying to prepare myself for this for weeks now, and still I'm getting tongue-tied!"

"Let me." Tonks stepped in with a hiccup. "Harry Potter, Nasrin Quartz Universe, allow me to present, as impossible as it is…Sirius Black."

"Back from the dead, big as life, and twice as pretty." Sirius jested.

Harry swayed, overwhelmed, and Nasrin steadied him instinctively, lifting the boy and carrying him over to sit on the couch with Tonks and Sirius hovering on either side.

When he came back, mind processing the overload, it was to Eevee, Scooby, Snow, Squishie and Prince peering up at his face in obvious worry while Hedwig and Robin had taken their usual perches on either shoulder, cooing while the latter preened his hair.

Squeezing the pink-haired girl's hands, Harry looked up at the Lord of Sevii for a few long, considering moments before throwing himself into Sirius' arms.

"By Merlin, Harry." The man whispered, choking on tears. "I don't even know what to say."

"That's a first!" Tonks noted with a watery laugh.

The laughter was infectious, and Nasrin hid her giggles in Harry's back, knowing they must look mad and not caring in the slightest.

"You have no idea how wonderful it feels to laugh!" Sirius gasped once the fit had passed. "I haven't truly laughed since…"

There was no need to ask, and the good mood evaporated.

"There is so much I need to make up for." The man admitted. "So many promises I've longed to fulfill, but was too afraid to."

His eyes filled with tears looking at Harry then, and Nasrin pressed a hand to her eyes.

"They told me you were dead. I wallowed in self-pity and despair for six years thinking that bastard Voldemort had killed you. When the Sons invaded and Jack made me the new Lord of Sevii, I just threw myself into the job to try and hide from the pain. Merlin bless Jack…If he hadn't seen that copy of the Galahad Gazette about you and the Chamber, I might never have left Sevii."

Sirius looked over to his cousin, reaching out to pet her brightly-colored hair.

"The thought of you almost had me come back, Nymphie. I want you to know that. I was a coward, though, and was so ashamed of failing James and Lily that I…I just couldn't do it. But I came close, baby girl, I came real close."

Tonks sniffled, not caring at all to act like the officer she was in that moment.

"What matters is that you're here now. We all thought you dead, so no one is without blame."

"How did you survive…uh…" Harry trailed off, getting control of his voice.

"Don't even think of calling me Mister Black, either of you." Sirius ordered good-naturedly. "It's Sirius to you, and it always will be Sirius."

"But I-" Nasrin started, pulling back.

"Your father was a great ally to me in my time at Hogwarts." The Lord cut in, smiling. "And you've spent the last two years protecting my godson when I wasn't there for him. You're practically family."

Blinking back tears, the half-Gem nodded jerkily as Prince butted into her hip, rumbling.

"Sirius…" Harry tried out, rolling the word on his tongue. "How did you survive?"

"Every report said you died fighting Peter Pettigrew-" She added.

"What?" Sirius interrupted, dark eyes suddenly wild. "Why would I be fighting Peter?"

"Because he betrayed my parents…" Harry said slowly.

"He was the traitor that led Voldemort to Little…"

But Nasrin trailed off at the fury that filled his expression.

"Peter…They think that…"

Sirius went quiet, struggling to control himself for a few long moments.

"Harry, Nasrin…Peter Pettigrew was my friend, your father's, too. He didn't betray your parents. He died trying to bring the traitor to justice."


	7. Chapter 7

That Halloween night in Little Surrey thirteen years ago was a source of sadness and joy for the people of Avalon, a day where their nightmare was ended and a peaceful future awaited, though many were lost in the endeavor.

They were told that Peter Pettigrew betrayed his friends and led Voldemort to the Potters, that Lily killed Voldemort once and for all at the cost of her own life, and that Sirius Black died taking Peter to the reaper himself.

Even while fighting Little Surrey for custody of baby Harry, with his legal guardian believed dead and Petunia Dursley his closest living relative, no one considered that any part of this story could be a lie.

* * *

When the Potter Gym at Griflet's Hollow had been blown up, killing Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, and their Typhlosion sent overseas to escape capture, Team Nocturne began to hunt down James and Lily Potter in earnest.

With their baby in danger, the young couple had been forced to flee, leaving Remus and Moony to move from Potter family home to family home, mimicking their Pokemon to craft the illusion that they had not gone to Little Surrey.

Lily's brother and friends aided the ruse by sending out false information, trying to turn their attention away, though Dumbledore believed that Lord Voldemort would never go to the isolated island.

The Marauders, however, knew that the violent madman would not respect the isolationist treaty Little Surrey was made on, and so Sirius patrolled the shores in a boat with Peter, keeping an eye out for any Nocturne agents that might try to slip in unnoticed.

Sirius realized they had failed when James had called him that night, asking why Peter was watching the house in his Pokemagnus form, a Raticate.

The moment he tried to warn them, it was too late.

Peter had driven them to the dock as fast as he could, both sick with dread, and raced to the safe house only to find it destroyed and the Little Surrey police already combing through the wreckage.

Sirius had been overcome with sorrow and pain, but Peter spotted the Raticate trying to make an escape, and both Marauders took off after it.

The culprit separated from their Pokemon early in the chase, the lack of a Yamask marking them as a lowly grunt, and led the pair in a wild chase across the island for nearly an hour.

Despite the many near misses and lost trails, Sirius and Peter cornered their target on a cliff, where an old lighthouse sat over the sea.

When they spoke, a voice scrambler defeated any attempt at identifying gender, let alone identity, though their words were sinister.

"Such bold talk, Sirius. But then again, you always did shoot off your mouth."

But the grunt proved more cunning and dangerous than expected, their Rattata countering Padfoot the Houndour's Flamethrower with one of its own before sending out a Manectric that separated Sirius and Peter with a Thunder.

"I hope you like him, Sirius." The grunt stated coolly as the Discharge Pokemon went after Padfoot, forcing the smaller canine into retreat. "I got him just for you. I was originally hoping to become a Magnus with him, but when I felt the bonding tug from this Rattata, I knew it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Stupid James, he never thought for a moment that there could be another Raticate Pokemagnus, but I suppose he was just like you, failing to see my potential!"

The battle was fierce, Sirius and Padfoot battling Manectric while Peter took on the Rattata with his Darmanitan, forcing the grunt to handle two fronts.

"That's the problem with you and James, Sirius. You could never see beyond yourselves! You think you understand this world-"

A bolt of Thunder struck both Pokemon and humans, leaving them unable to move from the pain.

"You think you understand this world and your place in it, but your failure is that you looked past too many people, not realizing they were threats. Oh yes, Sirius, betraying you has been so easy, and so delightful."

Peter attempted to strike while the enemy was distracted, his Darmanitan nearly blasting the Rattata off the cliff with a Hyper Beam while Wormtail drew blood against Manectric with a Hyper Fang, though he fell from paralysis soon after.

"Well done, Pettigrew, well done. You managed to wound both my Pokemon. A valiant effort, and one worthy of applause. So many mock you and wonder how you ever became friends with James and Sirius here, but it's clear you're quite skilled. Sadly, with Padfoot and Wormtail paralyzed and your Darmanitan needing to recharge after that impressive attack, and dear Sirius here still recovering from his own injuries, there's nothing either of you can throw at me to stop this."

Manectric began to build up a horrific charge, overclocking its internal battery into an Overheat, and steam rose from blue-and-gold fur as rain began to fall.

But Sirius was unable to command his own limbs, and fell into the eerie calm of a man accepting his death-

"NO!"

Peter tackled the Electric-type in a bid to save his friend, and went up in an inferno, screaming in agony as skin blackened with heat and blood boiled in cooking veins.

Manectric threw off the burden once done, and Sirius realized his friend was still alive, if barely, his last words etching into the Black's soul.

"Harry…He needs you…I'll tell James and Lily…"

Sirius let out an anguished scream, only falling silent when a blow struck him from behind.

* * *

Sirius awoke hours later with stitches in his head and all his belongings taken, tormented by the night's events and sedated into compliance, before realizing he inhabited a cell.

That's when Warden Phillip Yorrick had arrived, a bland man with sharp eyes, to inform him that Sevii Island would be his home for the next two decades for bringing Pokemon to Little Surrey and battling on their land.

Yorrick continued on to say that everyone involved in the Potters' murders were identified and taken care of, that there was no escaped perpetrator…

"The bodies of James, Lily and Harry Potter were found…"

And that no one survived.

At this thought, at the realization of his failure, Sirius was lost.


	8. Chapter 8

For six years, Sirius stayed a prisoner on Sevii Island in the minimum security wing, separated from the captured Nocturne agents, murderers, and rapists that were monitored by the Dusknoir.

He did not care about lengthening his sentence to keep the others in line, or ending up in the dungeons where the Ghosts dwelt, and stayed apart from all others as penance for his failure that Halloween night.

But then two new arrivals came, Kent and Marie, an older couple that had endeared themselves to him with their honesty and lack of ulterior motives.

No one knew why husband and wife were in Sevii, what crime they had committed, not even their last names…

Until the day Jack Kenway stormed the island.

A Tyranitar burst through the stone walls to grant his trainer access, guards having long fallen in the wake of their fury, while Jonas and Claire commanded a pair of Aggron and a Dragonite to continue the assault elsewhere.

But Jack entered the dining hall where his parents were held, and confronted a frazzled Warden Yorrick alone.

"Stay back!"

"Or what? Please, tell me what grave dangers I now face. I'm so very interested to hear what threats you wish to issue. I know people always speak of courage and valor, but without strength to back them up, such bravado is rather sad."

Two guards tried to attack the man, but ended up on the ground, choking through a collapsed throat or gurgling through a bloody pulp that had once been a face at his hands.

"You could have laid down your weapon." Jack informed them almost sadly, face hidden by his hood. "You could have gone home, married your sweetheart, had several kids, and died in your armchair an old man. But you had to be bold, didn't you? You threw your life away trying to attack that which is simply beyond you. Tell the devil Jack Kenway sends his regards."

And Sirius watched as the guards' cries were silenced forever, closing his eyes from the horror.

"You monster!"

"Monster?" The Kenway replied playfully, eyes cold and hard. "If I'm a monster, then I'm in rather good company. Isn't that right, Mumik?"

His Donphan let out a trumpeting call at that.

"You think this was murder, warden? No, that was a lesson. Don't come at me unless you're ready to pay the final price. I come at you prepared for the same. Azog, if another guard tries something stupid like that again, vaporize them."

His Tyranitar nodded in agreement.

"Now _that_? That will be murder."

Sirius thought that Jack was more like a Pokemon than a man, more like his own Padfoot than a human, as he stalked towards Warden Yorrick.

"How many men have rotted in this damn place because of your greed? I know all about you, Phillip Yorrick. I know how you've lined your pockets with the blood money of the most vile and corrupt men and women in this world. How many innocents have you allowed to be held here? How many have been tortured under your care purely because they had made enemies of the powerful? You turned this prison into a house of horrors and used it to line your pockets, and then…and then, you dared to throw my father, my mother, in here? It ends now. The coins that you have fought so hard to get will be the weights I use to sink you to the bowels of hell!"

The warden collapsed with a low, guttural moan.

"Jonas!"

Jonas Kenway entered then, sword wet with blood, with a pair of guards.

"Sevii is ours. The lower cells have been secured by Tyrone, and the remaining guards that refused to surrender were slain by Claire. Vixen is antsy, though. She wanted more bloodshed."

"Then give it to her. Take this piece of filth and march him to the top of the battlements! I want all of Kanto to see him swing."

"You hear that, kids? We're going to have a hanging tonight!"

Cheers rose from humans and Pokemon alike, and Jack reunited with his parents as the warden was dragged away, revealing the man hidden under that hood.

"We have much to discuss." Jonas prodded calmly. "What do we do with the prison now?"

"The guards that surrendered will not be harmed. They were smart, and will be rewarded with their lives. Those that fought us will be gathered until we can determine if any of them fought for honor rather than to protect their secrets. That will determine how long they get to live."

"And the prisoners?"

"There are good men here." Kent Kenway voiced, placing a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "Sirius was a friend to us, and helped us when he could."

"Then I owe him a debt I look forward to paying."

After a moment of hesitation, Sirius clasped Jack's offered hand with his own.

* * *

In those last months of the Johto/Kanto war, Sirius fought alongside the rebels for their freedom, adjusting to this new warfare that was so different from the ambush tactics of Team Nocturne.

Here, the battles lasted for hours, potions tossed about quickly until both trainer and Pokemon were down.

"In war, you cannot worry about your foe. If they surrender, then you show them mercy, but for those that refuse to bend to you, they must be wiped away. It does no good to march forward if you leave knives to stab you behind your back."

The last battle, before Jack would finally confront his once-friend Lance Blackthorn and decide the fate of their regions, saw Sirius with the Kenway brothers, celebrating.

"Sevii has done well on its own, but I need someone I trust running it."

"And that's you."

Even with the simple J tattooed on his inner wrist, Sirius had been skeptical.

"Before you crack wise, I would remind you that you were given chances to leave by the warden, but didn't want to. You stayed. I understand why, Sirius, and I never expected you to go home. I suggest this only because I think it would help you, give you a place to go and a task to do, so you don't wander off and die in a desert somewhere."

And Sirius knew this was true, had been planning just that, and realized that neither Johto nor Avalon could be home, not with the weight of his memories.

So Sevii it was.


	9. Chapter 9

Nasrin tightened her hold on Harry's hand, a steadying force amid the dizzying array of emotions that overwhelmed him, though she was just as torn.

Here was Sirius Black, his godfather, alive and well and wanting to be a part of his life; here was the truth that the man he had cursed for three years was a true Gryffindor, dying for his friends; here was remorse and guilt, the knowledge that no one could apologize for years of unjustified anger; here was the knowledge that someone had kept them apart, forcing him to stay with the abusive Dursleys; here was a man that had killed, that called the Sons of Johto friends, and the memory of that long-ago video replayed in their minds.

"None of that matters, Sirius!" Tonks proclaimed, pulling her cousin into a hug. "What's important is that you're here now!"

Harry nodded quickly, nearly unseating Hedwig and Robin.

"She's right. You did what you had to do."

"No." Sirius replied, firmly. "As much as I'd like to claim that, that I did what I did only to survive, it isn't true. Helping Jack and Jonas wasn't something I needed to do, but something I wanted. The choices I've made…I won't let you cast them aside by claiming that I needed to do them. Did joining the Sons save my life? Of course, but not in the way you think."

Nasrin reached out at the old grief that seemed to pour from him then, Prince shifting to support her back with Squishie as Scooby, Snow and Eevee leapt up to curl on Sirius' lap.

"Your dad was my best friend, Harry. He saved me from…Well, let's just say that the Black family wasn't one to play on the side of the angels. Our history was full of dangerous men and women that sought out power and control. They make the Sons of Johto look like pixie fairies. Murder, betrayal, backstabbing, open theft…These aren't the Black family's secrets, but their prideful codes of conduct. For eleven years, I was told about what my duties were to the family and what was expected of me."

The memory brought some fondness, well-worn from much contemplation.

"When I got on the train for Hogwarts…Merlin, if I hadn't chosen the cabin I did, I could have ended up like that prick Lucius Malfoy, only caring about my station in life and trying to find ways to take from others in order to better my standing. But instead of picking the cabin to the right, I picked the one to the left, and there was your father with his messy hair and glasses thicker than yours. Oh, he grew into his looks, Harry, and before we graduated, he had only yours truly standing in his way of being the most desirable male in Hogwarts."

Tonks coughed pointedly, which sounded suspiciously like the word 'bullshit', and Hedwig cooed a laugh that matched Nasrin's restrained giggles.

"But back then, he was just this small, scruffy-looking thing. And I just stared at him, and he said, with a cocky little smirk, 'well, well, well, the first classmate I get to corrupt'."

Sirius smiled.

"And did he ever. Your father opened up my eyes, Harry, and before that train ride ended, I knew for a fact that there was no way I was going to be a Slytherin, not when James Potter had already decided to be a Gryffindor."

"Decided?" Tonks parroted. "Slowking-"

"Let's you pick, if you have a strong enough will. James should have been in Slytherin. Slowking fought with him for about two minutes on that before it finally let him be in Gryffindor. The ways James told it, he finally argued that no true Slytherin would ever pick to be in Slytherin House, because that's advertising you're cunning."

"Slowking said I could be in any House." Harry agreed.

"Me, too." Nasrin added with a shrug.

"I'm not sure if I picked, or he was just guiding me towards the answer he wanted…"

"But in the end, I was a Gryffindor."

"Some of us did it the right way." Tonks sniffed.

"Where's the fun in that, Nymphie?" Sirius teased, and her glare only had him laughing harder.

"Is there a point to this, or are you just trying to annoy us?" Tonks huffed, earning another round of laughter about Huffing Hufflepuffs.

"I don't think Harry or Nasrin are annoyed. Are you, kiddos?"

"Remus taught me never to disagree with a woman if I wanted to live to see adulthood." Harry replied, Nasrin nodding along.

"And that's why Remus is the smartest of us all. Probably why he's the only one to make it out of the war out of the four of us."

This smile was weaker than the last, not as bright.

"The point is, James Potter changed the entire direction of my life, and without him, I don't want to even consider what kind of git I would have become. Even your father, Nasrin, came a few years later, and only solidified that change. He was my rock, and when he died, I was lost and adrift. If I had known you were alive, Harry, I think that would have been enough, but with nothing left of your father in this world, I probably would have killed myself if I weren't scared of meeting him on the other side and having to explain why I failed him."

Sirius looked down then, unable to meet their eyes.

"If Jack and Jonas hadn't recruited me, I think I would have either spent my entire life on that island…"

The thought trailed off, but no one needed an explanation.

"They gave me a purpose, and kept me sane, and smacked me across the back of the head when I got too gloomy. They were my friends when I needed friends the most, and for that, I will never degrade what I did for them in return by claiming I didn't want to help."

Nasrin pressed a hand to her Gem, understanding exactly what he meant.

"Well, glad they were able to do that when we couldn't." Tonks replied lightly, bopping his head with her fingers.

"But now you have us!" Harry and Nasrin agreed.

"That I do."

"Just imagine how everyone is going to react when we tell them you're alive!" Tonks stated happily.

"We can't tell them."

All three stared at him, dumbfounded.

"There's nothing more I'd love to do than reveal that I'm alive and rub it in Lucius Malfoy and his ilk's noses that I survived. And believe I will, one day. But not just yet, not with that grunt still out there."

"The grunt?" Harry and Nasrin echoed, surprised.

"The traitor who killed Peter and led Lord Voldemort right to your mum and dad. He's still out there somewhere, and until I find him, he'll be a threat to us all."

"Sirius, no." Tonks stated firmly, every inch an Auror now. "Let the government deal with that! Once you tell them the truth, they'll be tumbling over each other wanting to find the traitor first. There'll be manhunts and bounties and-"

His bitter laugh cut the woman off.

"Oh, how I wish I was still as naïve as you, Nymphie. Tonks, Lucius Malfoy was one of Voldemort's most trusted lieutenants. He led raids on the Order of Moltres and killed, all in the name of his master. Everyone knows this, and he has never once denied it. Is he rotting in a cell right now? Was he condemned to Sevii?"

Tonks shifted uneasily, but it was Nasrin that spoke, dark eyes steely.

"No."

"Goyle, Crabbe, Nott, Parkinson." Sirius listed easily. "Those are just four of the families who openly declared themselves for Lord Voldemort. All of them are still around, free to do what they like because they were able to claim that they were forced and threatened to aid Voldemort, or that Team Nocturne ran a smear campaign against them, making them out to look like murderers and thieves when in 'reality', they were duped into aiding Team Nocturne and didn't realize until it was too late what their motives were. You honestly want me to trust the government who lets half of the senior leadership of Team Nocturne not only walk around free, but gives them rewards?"

Sirius growled, almost sounding like his Padfoot.

"James and Lily died, and the Avalon government's response was to give Lucius Bloody Malfoy, a member of the group who murdered them, a Gym of his own, and let him take James' spot as leader of the Gym Leaders!"

The Pokemon on his lap growled in agreement, and Nasrin reached back to stroke Prince's mane as he trembled.

"If it were just stupidity…Well, I might be willing to forgive stupidity. I've done plenty of stupid things myself. But no, no, it isn't just stupidity, but corruption and greed that runs through the heart of Avalon's government. Do you know who gave the most to Cornelius Fudge's campaign for reelection last time he ran? Lucius God-Damn Malfoy, that's who! That bastard has the minister wrapped around his little finger, and has enough of the Gym Leaders in his pocket to ensure that they vote as he wants. I would probably last maybe a week after 'returning from the dead' before they found some way to pin James' and Lily's deaths on me. Hell, that's assuming they would even recognize me as Sirius Black and not some impostor!"

"It can't be all that bad…" Tonks tried, unwilling to believe the government she worked for was so wicked.

But Harry and Nasrin remembered how Lucius had used the minister to force Hermione into an interrogation in the Great Hall, had been the reason Voldemort had eventually possessed Cho Chang, and how he had still tried to take Zygarde when all else failed.

"There must be someone else who can help you." The boy offered.

"Remus, Professor Dumbledore, the Crystal Gems-" She agreed.

"Harry, Nasrin, no. The only people on Avalon that I want to know about me are all in this room."

"Why?" Tonks asked, confused.

"Because I can't trust anyone but you three. It would be smarter not to. My original plan was to keep my identity a secret from even you. We have no idea who the traitor is."

"Not Remus." Harry stated firmly.

"And not the Gems." Nasrin agreed.

"I don't think it's them, either, but I can't rule it out."

Only his tone, the implication that thinking so was hard, kept the Third Years from responding immediately.

"Even the Gems…I know they stayed close on Litore after what happened to your father, Nasrin, but there's no way to know for sure."

Nasrin took a deep breath, the air shuddering in her chest.

 _So it was true, then_.

"He killed him, didn't he?"

The room fell silent at her soft words, and the half-Gem looked up with shimmering eyes.

"He killed my father, and that's why I'm…"

Sirius closed his eyes, and Harry turned to pull her into an embrace, the steady rock she needed.

"I still don't like this." Tonks admitted once both Third Years had calmed, redirecting the conversation.

"I don't like it either, Nymphie, but there are a lot of things I've learned to live with that I don't like. The traitor could be anyone. The fact that he-"

"Or she." Nasrin piped up, rubbing at her eye.

"It could have been a woman who was disguising her voice." Harry added, fingers carding comfortingly through pink curls.

"Wonderful, we can't even nail down the gender!" Tonks complained, arms flailing in exasperation and earning a giggle from the half-Gem.

"He or she dressed like a grunt and never revealed their face, even when there was a chance to gloat, tells me that this is someone who didn't want the world to know they were part of Team Nocturne." Sirius continued.

"Or they just wanted to make you overthink things." Nasrin pointed out.

"Stop doing that!" Tonks whined.

"The point is that it literally could be anyone I know. They traitor said they know me-"

"But maybe-"

Harry cut off at the glare he earned, and Nasrin giggled when he shifted behind her.

"And his or her actions made it clear that this was personal." Sirius finished his thought. "It could be one of my classmates, or a member of the Order of Moltres, or someone I met during the war. There's no way to know until I uncover his or her identity, and until then, I can't trust anyone. Yes, most likely Dumbledore isn't the traitor, but his barber could be. Remus probably isn't the traitor, but his girlfriend-"

"Remus doesn't have a girlfriend." Harry stated.

"He doesn't? Seriously? By Merlin, does that man want to die a virgin or something?"

"Focus." Tonks prodded, rolling her eyes.

"Right. The point is that not only to protect me, but to protect all of Avalon, we need to keep this a secret. The moment it comes out that I'm alive, the traitor will either come gunning for me or go underground, and I'll lose the chance to avenge James, Lily and Peter."

Harry, Nasrin and Tonks shared a look, relenting.

"Okay, we'll do it your way." The Auror conceded.

"Thank you." Sirius looked towards the Third Years, as if trying to commit Harry to memory. "You have no idea how much I want to stay, kiddo, but I need to get going, and you do, too. We've already stayed way too long, and soon people are going to ask even more questions than they already are."

"What will you do now?" Nasrin wondered as Scooby and Eevee climbed onto Harry's lap and Snow moved to her own.

"The Lord of Sevii is going to tour Avalon for a bit before returning to his island. I'm going to use my time to gather as much information about the end days of the war as I can, and try and figure out exactly who did what. The whole thing is a spider web, and sitting right in the middle will be the traitor. I need to chance the strands though, before I can consider making a more aggressive move." Sirius answered, standing. "But I'll be around, and I'll be keeping an eye on you when I can. I have some powerful friends now, and they'll be helping me, too. Jack and Jonas still owe me a few favors, and I'm willing to owe them some as well if they can help me figure this all out. The important thing you three can do is act normal and not go off the handle trying to figure things out for me."

The Lord gave Harry and Nasrin a long stare.

"I was young and a Gryffindor once, too, and I've read about your adventures. For me, try and behave."

"Remus made me promise the same thing." Harry recalled.

"Then the Chamber of the Unown opened." Nasrin pointed out.

"So in other words, I'm screwed?"

"Pretty much." The Third Years replied, smiling.

"Bugger."


	10. Chapter 10

Nasrin was not used to lying.

Yes, she had withheld information from authority figures at Hogwarts, but never from her family or friends.

Harry had taken the lead when Remus first approached them, telling him that the Lord of Sevii wanted to discuss some rumors the man had heard about attempts to reform Team Nocturne, and that prisoners were offering information in exchange for having time commuted off their sentences.

Since some pieces pertained to Harry, the Lord had gone straight to him to determine if said information was genuine.

No one asked why Nasrin had also been called for, which she explained to Harry that night after everyone else had gone to bed, sated from the Welcoming Feast.

"Fusion is a big deal for Gems, and for me." She had reminded the boy, both curled into Prince's warm fur. "Everyone knows that threatening one means bringing the other's wrath…And secrets can damage that bond, sometimes beyond repair."

So those first two days were hard, but bearable, just like that first Halloween three years ago.

 _As long as they had each other, anything was possible_.

* * *

"So, how awkward is this going to be for you?" Ron wondered, nudging Harry's shoulder.

"Depends on how Remus is feeling." Harry admitted as they approached the Battle classroom, Robin swaying on his shoulder while Hedwig preened at Nasrin's long curls.

"What?" Neville asked, Flora safely in her Poke Ball. "You mean like if Remus treats you all coldly and stuff because he doesn't want to come off as giving you preferential treatment?"

"I'd be more concerned about baby pictures and being called Pronglet." Nasrin replied dryly, earning a laugh from the boys.

The group looked around for good seats as they entered, and Neville noticed something amiss.

"I wonder why Hermione is sitting there."

It was true; instead of sitting in the front row, right by the professor's desk, Hermione was seated in the very back corner, or the so-called 'slacker section'.

If she had not been reading on her Pokedex, Nasrin could be forgiven for thinking the bushy-haired girl had been possessed.

"This is very weird." Harry noted honestly.

"Maybe us giving her the cold shoulder made her brain snap, and she's now become a crazy stalker killer who'll hunt us down one by one and kill us in our dreams while wearing a hideous sweater!"

Ron's eyes went wide as the others stared at him, nonplussed.

"By Merlin, I think Luna and I swapped souls there for a moment!"

Shaking her head, Nasrin led them up to the back row, sharing a table with Harry while Neville sat with Hermione and Ron shared with Seamus.

"So, what do you think Remus-I mean, Professor Lupin-will teach us?" Neville wondered.

"Not sure." The half-Gem admitted, smoothing down Hedwig's feathers.

"He wouldn't even give me a hint, as he felt that it would ruin the surprise."

"Even if he gave you every answer, it wouldn't help you, Potter." Draco sneered as he walked past, Crabbe and Goyle forever at his sides. "Certain people in this world are meant to rise up, while the rest stay in the filth."

"I've always felt the same way." Harry replied with a dark little smirk.

"Watch yourself, Potter." The Slytherin snapped. "You insulted the honor of the Malfoy family, and a Malfoy always repays his debts."

"I thought the Lannister's always repaid their debts?" Ron's eyes widened. "Oh Merlin, I did it again!"

"We'll get Luna and perform an exorcism later." Nasrin assured, turning her attention away from a fuming Draco with Harry.

Remus entered before the blonde could form a word, and he scowled, marching over to his seat.

"Good afternoon, class!" The scarred man greeted cheerily, pulling off his lab coat to drape it over a chair. "Now then, welcome to Year Three Battle Class. During your first year, you learned all about the basics of battling. Last year, you…were supposed to learn about elemental typing, and the various weaknesses and strengths."

Remus scowled slightly, and most of the class squirmed.

Lockheart had done no such thing, and while it had been fun to hear his false stories, they were now aware of how much trouble this had wrought.

Nasrin, personally, was not worried, since Pearl had made sure to cover the material herself, and Harry had been caught up by Remus over the summer, but anyone without a private tutor- _or the will to read ahead_ -was in for a rough time.

Casually unbuttoning his cuffs, Remus rolled up his sleeves and continued.

"This year, we're going to learn about another aspect of battling that can greatly affect the outcome of your battles. Abilities."

With the click of a button, the board flickered on to show some rather cartoony drawings of different Pokemon.

One image depicted a Mankey touching a Pikachu, and an arrow pointed to the next, which showed said Pikachu smiling as the Mankey was surrounded by lightning bolts.

"It's only been within the last century that scientists realized that all Pokemon have at least one ability. It took that long because many abilities were assumed merely to be quirks of the Pokemon species. For example, Slaking."

The next slide showed said Lazy Pokemon punching a Camerupt to his trainer's cheers, while the next image showed that trainer less happy when the Slaking fell asleep.

"They have an ability called Slaking Off that causes them to swing between bouts of extreme battle frenzy and utter slothfulness. It was only when scientists began to experiment with the Pokemon Audino and her move Simple Beam, and attempted to artificially create it, that it was realized that this wasn't by choice, but a part of their genetics. Slaking might not want to become lazy after an attack, but their natural will causes them to do so. By understanding the Abilities of our Pokemon, we can better prepare for battles. Some Abilities are quite obvious, and are quickly seen. Any Pokemon that affects the weather, for instance. Others are quite subtle, and a person might not ever even use the Ability."

Remus clapped his hands, the sound putting everyone at attention.

"Alright, who can tell me of an ability their Pokemon has?"

It was another surprise when Hermione did not raise her hand, but Nasrin said nothing at Ron's look.

"Yes, Mister Malfoy."

"My Servine has the Overgrowth ability, which makes it much stronger when using Grass-type moves."

"Very good, ten points to Slytherin. Now, how about a Gryffindor? Yes, Miss Universe."

"My Rowlet has the Long Reach ability, which means she can strike other Pokemon without making contact." She answered, smiling as Robin hooted proudly.

"Good, good! Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, some of you might not know your Pokemons' Abilities, and that's okay. Your homework will be to compose a list of the Abilities of each of your Pokemon and what they do. You'll also want to begin thinking about how these Abilities can help you, as we'll be focusing on that in the upcoming days."

Remus smiled, giving the class a few moments to note the assignment in their Pokedexes before continuing.

"Now, for the rest of this class period, we're going to get a demonstration of a Pokemon Ability and how it can affect your battle."

A snap of the fingers, and Moony hopped up onto his desk, clearly delighted at being the center of attention.

"Now, most Zorua have the special Ability known as Illusion, which allows them to take on the appearance of a Pokemon in the opponent's party. However, Moony here, as he's from the rarer Avalon strain, has a different Ability. His Ability is known as Mind Games, but would probably be better described as an upgraded version of Illusion. You see, rather than taking a form based a Pokemon your opponent owns, Moony creates the illusion that he's become something that the opponent fears or becomes cautious around. This unnerves Pokemon and trainers, and allows Zorua to either escape or attack. Over the next two days, we're going to have each of you encounter Moony's Ability so you understand it better and learn how to work through it."

Remus tapped his chin, contemplative.

"Now, I think we should mix things up a bit and start in the back of the class, and work our way forward. Miss Granger, you can start."

Hermione smiled and happily headed towards the front of the classroom, Harry and Nasrin sharing a curious look.

 _How had she known?_

"Alright, now it's important, Miss Granger, you remember that, no matter how realistic Moony's illusion is, it isn't real. You have to fight through it and see things for how they really are. If I think it's taking you too long, I'll break the illusion myself."

"I'm ready." Hermione assured with a nod.

Moony leapt down from the desk, but it wasn't a Zorua that landed on the floor.

What rose was a massive purple monster, like a land-shark, fangs bared as it stepped towards Hermione-

The Third Year Gryffindor pressed back against Remus' desk, trembling in horror and pupils terrified pinpricks, breaths coming in sharp bursts of panic-

"Remus!" Nasrin shouted, knuckles white.

"Enough."

The creature seemed to shatter, like thin ice or fragile glass, to reveal Moony once more.

"It's okay." Remus assured, wincing at the flinch his touch earned. "It wasn't real."

"Thought I could do it." Hermione admitted in a mumble. "Should have stuck with the original."

"Miss Granger, do you at least know the name of that Pokemon?"

"Garchomp." She answered faintly, still shaken.

"Good. Five points to Gryffindor. Go take your seat."

Draco scoffed, talking in a stage-whisper to his clique that had Hedwig puffing up her feathers in distaste.

"Of course the little frightened Skitty gets points. If it weren't for the generosity of professors, they would never get any points! And a Garchomp? How pathetic. Leave it to someone of her ilk to be frightened by a Pokemon rather than control and dominate it!"

Remus raised an eyebrow, and Harry squirmed, recognizing that look.

Seeing this look directed at Draco, however, had that Sharpedo smile falling across Nasrin's face.

"Well, Mister Malfoy, by all means, give it a try."

The Prince of Slytherin strolled up with all his usual arrogance and swagger, and the Gryffindors leaned forward in interest, wanting to see what Pokemon Moony became.

 _He did not become a Pokemon_.

"Draco, you are such a disappointment." 'Lucius Malfoy' sighed, advancing on Draco when the boy stumbled back in shock. "You are a Malfoy, the most noble House in all of Avalon, and yet you continue to disgrace our family's name. You aren't smart enough or quick enough or powerful enough. We're supposed to be leaders among men, but you couldn't lead Magikarp to water! Perhaps it is time to talk to your mother about producing a new heir-"

"No!" Draco screamed, falling to his knees. "Please, father, I-"

Moony's illusion faded away with the boy's pleas, and he scowled at making a fool of himself in front of the entire class, stalking back to his desk amid sniggers from Gryffindor.

"Now, as I was going to say after Miss Granger's failed attempt, do not be surprised if you fail this first time. Shaking off a Pokemon Ability takes great determination, and will be something that must be learned. Once you learn to shake off Moony's Ability, you'll find yourself better enabled to deal with other, weaker Abilities. The same holds true for your Pokemon. The stronger your bond, the better chance they'll have of breaking through an Ability or status condition."

Neville was next, and Moony took on Professor Snape's form this time, really hamming up his role to everyone else's amusement, while he became a shiny Charizard for Pansy, who cowered from the black Flame Pokemon as Hermione had done from Garchomp.

"Miss Universe."

Giving Harry's hand a squeeze, Nasrin left Hedwig and Robin behind as she crossed the classroom, determined.

 _I can do this, whatever it is, I can do it_ -

Moony shimmered as he crafted the illusion, and the room fell into shocked silence at what they saw.

Scattered across the floor were multiple motionless, bloody bodies, humans and Pokemon alike, shards of what looked like colorful glass surrounding their fallen forms.

Harry's heart dropped as he recognized himself through the carnage.

"No…"

Nasrin's whisper was heartbroken, disbelieving, and she stumbled back.

"No, no…"

A sob tore free, full of pain and terror and grief, and Harry barely registered standing in response.

"No, don't be dead, don't be gone…"

The half-Gem collapsed into herself.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I failed, I'm _sorry_ -"

Harry practically tackled her in a hug, Robin and Hedwig flapping about in distress over their heads.

In flashes of light, the rest of their Pokemon appeared, a shield against the whole wide world.

Squeakers and Togetic hugged either side of her neck, whining in sympathy, as Star wrapped her flippers as far around the girl's chest as she could in a hug while Scooby, Eevee, Snow and Squishie pressed into her belly, letting out low purrs of comfort.

Ludwig bobbed about overhead with the owls, distraught, while Prince leaned against the length of her back and rumbled, Dobby flailing in his indecision on how best to calm the girl.

"I'm right here, Nazz, it's okay, we're all right here…"

It took long minutes for Nasrin to pull herself together, and Remus offered a chilled water bottle as Moony whimpered in apology.

"Are you alright?"

Sniffling, the pinkette nodded jerkily as Dobby twisted the cap off for her, and Harry pet her mussed curls as she gulped down the water gratefully.

The class had already been dismissed, even Ron, Neville and Hermione told to wait outside, and Remus shifted back on his heels with a sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Nasrin shook her head no immediately, curling into Harry's chest, and the professor relented.

 _Anyone would be shaken after seeing everyone they loved dead_.


	11. Chapter 11

Long used to sharing her bed with multiple little bodies, Nasrin was in tune with each of her Pokemon's sleeping habits out of necessity.

Star tended to curl up against her neck, tail twitching with dreams, while Squeakers sprawled out on the top of her pillow, letting out little, squeaking snores every other breath.

Snow was more inclined to become a little ball of white fur, face covered by her tails, while Scooby laid out on his back, rear leg kicking as he growled faintly, dreaming of battle.

 _Nasrin tried to ignore how much more active her Rockruff became during such dreams, that he was growing restless at dawn and dusk, and had started growling at Lavender and Parvati when they walked by the bed_.

Robin always nested on a spare pillow, letting out little hooting sighs, while Squishie just plopped down on his person's legs, grumbling faintly even in sleep, and Prince took up an entire half of the bed thanks to his sheer bulk, curling around her almost protectively.

But since that first night at Hogwarts, the half-Gem found it almost impossible to find sleep.

It was as if every breath, every rustle of sheets, put a jolt of electricity across her nerves, and left Nasrin to stare at the red canopy overhead in silence until morning.

Honestly, after Battle class, she had not expected things to go any better that night, and was not at all surprised to find herself counting pockmarks in the walls at around midnight, far too wired for sleep.

 _Maybe if she tried counting Mareep again…?_

"Nazz?"

Hermione's whisper was strangely loud in the quiet dorm, and the pinkette almost jumped out of her skin, gaze swinging around to the vague lump in a bed to her right.

"'Mione?" She whispered back. "What are you doing awake?"

"I just…" The other girl started softly, peeking out from the warm folds of her covers. "Are you okay? After what happened…"

"I'm fine." Nasrin responded automatically, covering up with a smile. "Really."

The following silence was full of thoughts, buzzing like white noise, until Hermione found the words.

"Would you really be sad if I died?"

This had the half-Gem suddenly sitting up, wide-eyed, and Star squeaked as she was flung into the girl's lap, nearly colliding with a startled Squishie.

" _What_?"

"In Moony's illusion, I saw myself and Ralts and Snorunt and Crookshanks, and you were crying, and-"

Hermione sniffled, throat clogged with emotion.

"I thought you hated me after the Chamber…"

"'Mione, I don't hate you." Nasrin replied, blinking back tears. "I was hurt and…and betrayed by what you did, but I've _never_ hated you."

"R-Really?" The bushy-haired snuffled, rubbing at wet eyes.

"Oh, 'Mione, come here."

Opening her arms to the other girl, Nasrin curled around the hiccupping Hermione and hummed, eyes closing as warm tears wet her old Powerpuff Girls sleeping shirt.

 _Dreams came easily after that_.


	12. Chapter 12

In Third Year, students were given a wide selection of optional classes to try out and choose from.

With Remus hunting down books on Pokemagnus for Harry and Nasrin to start learning, and the continued ban on Speaking, the Third Year Gryffindors had happily signed up for Professor Trelawney's Pokemon Mystical Arts class in the hopes of learning about more of the Lost Arts.

Even Hermione had joined them, to see if she would prefer it to Ancient Languages, and they had gone up to the shortest of Hogwarts' four towers together.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Harry grumbled, hurrying back down the steps.

"Are you okay?" Nasrin worried, noticing how pale Hermione was and catching her arm when the other girl stumbled.

Pulling out a tissue, the bushy-haired girl coughed violently into it.

"Sorry, but Professor Trelawney-"

"It was like looking into the future, right?"

Hermione snapped her head towards Ron, glaring.

"I'm just saying. Bushy hair, big thick nerd glasses, yammers on about things no one understands…"

Star reached out and smacked Ron upside the head, and he relented immediately.

"I'll just be quiet now."

"Are you sure you're okay, Hermione?" Neville worried as Star patted Squeakers' back comfortingly, the Pikachu still sneezing uncontrollably.

"Yes, thank you. All that incense and smoke and perfume just gave me a raging headache."

"I know what you mean." The Longbottom agreed, rubbing at his itchy eyes for the thousandth time since entering that classroom. "I spend my summers tending to the Longbottom Venusaur, and they release huge clouds of pollen. I built up a tolerance to most flowery things, but all those allergens are nothing compared to Professor Trelawney's classroom."

"I'm surprised her Nosepass could stand it." Nasrin admitted, cradling Squeakers now as he started to settle.

"I wouldn't have minded if she'd actually taught us something." Harry complained. "I mean, I don't think she said a single word the entire time we were in there that made sense. She didn't talk about Speaking or Veelas or Pokemagnuses or anything!"

"All she talked about was opening up your inner eye and the 'mysteries of life'." Nasrin added, rolling her eyes. "What does that even mean?"

"To open your eyes? To seek out life and it's mysterious…mystery…mysteries?" Ron tried, earning deadpan stares. "Just saying…"

"And what was with her predicting my death?" Harry continued, and Nasrin scowled, Star and Squeakers grumbling unhappily.

"What kind of person looks at a thirteen-year-old and says they'll die a 'beautifully tragic death' by the end of term?"

"I think she said it was going to be tragically beautiful." Hermione corrected, rubbing at her temples. "But you have a point. I think I'll just stick with Ancient Languages."

"Not me!" Ron claimed with a grin. "She gave us all As just for sitting there. This class is going to be a cake walk!"

"Is that all you care about?" The bushy-haired Gryffindor retorted, glaring once more. "That it was an easy class? We're supposed to be here to learn and become better trainers, and prepare for our futures! How can you even begin to do that if all you're focused on is getting the easiest grade you can get?"

"I won't have a future if I don't pull any As." Ron replied simply. "You know what the likelihood of getting a job out of Hogwarts is if you don't have a single A on your record? Zilch. And I'm not like Crabbe or Goyle, who can rely upon their fathers or their buddy Draco to get them something to pay the bills. I'm going to need to fight with everything I got to make it in this region."

"But isn't that the point?" Hermione snapped back. "You need to get the best education you can get if you want to compete."

"I won't be able to compete if everyone tosses my resume away! Professor Trelawney's class is my best hope."

"He has a point." Neville admitted, throwing up his hands in surrender almost immediately. "Not a good point, but a point nonetheless."

"What about you, Harry? Nazz?"

"I'm done." The half-Gem answered as Scooby and Snow popped out of their Balls to trot alongside them.

"My life is dangerous enough. I don't need some flowery-smelling bint predicting my death on a daily basis!" Harry agreed.

"Harry!" Hermione squeaked, scandalized, though she fell quiet at a look.

"What are you five talking about?" Ginny wondered as she joined them with Luna.

"Professor Trelawney's class." Neville answered, arm looped with the blonde Second Year. "She predicted Harry was going to die."

"Everyone dies." Luna piped up. "So she's going to be right one day."

"Thanks for the pick-me-up, Luna." Harry grouched, shoulders relaxing as Robin and Hedwig appeared to perch there.

"You're welcome!"

"Was it really that bad?" Ginny directed to her brother.

"I didn't think so."

"You weren't the one being told 'you shall die when the pale moon shines brightest' by someone who smelled like a tavern that had a Bellossom explode inside." Nasrin pointed out.

"Was that what that smell was?" Neville mused. "Huh."

"Yup." Harry grunted. "Flowers, whiskey and shame. Smelled like my Aunt Marge's house."

Nasrin tilted her head back, curious, and the boy shrugged.

"Think a female Hagrid who likes to wear really strong perfume and has a bottle of cooking sherry always around, but never cooks."

"And now I have the image of Hagrid in a dress stuck in my mind." Ron whined. "Thanks, mate."

"I have the image of Neville dressed like a cowboy." Luna stated with a smile. "I don't know why, but I do!"

"How was Battle class?" Hermione asked the Second Years.

"Real fun." Ginny answered happily. "Professor Lupin is a much better teacher than Lockhart. He taught us all about type advantage and then, when we had some extra time before the end of class, he showed off his Zorua! It was cool, Moony can shape-shift into scary things!"

"Yeah, he did the same for us." Ron agreed. "What did he become for you, Gin?"

"Ugh, a zombie!" The young redhead shuddered in disgust. "A really nasty one, too. Guts pouring out of its stomach and covered in blood, half its jaw missing…Blurg. Though that might be replaced by Luna's if we ever do that again."

"What was hers?" Nasrin worried, seeing the half-Veela looking away from them all.

"Some bald guy in a brown trench coat with this weird black mask that looked like a mouth. Who was that, anyway?"

"It doesn't matter who he is, what matters is his plan." Luna replied, eyes glassy as she shuddered. "When Gotham is ashes, then I have his permission to die."

With a blink, she flashed a brilliant smile at everyone's confused looks.

"Why so serious?"

"Why am I not surprised?" Ron voiced as Hermione wrapped an arm around the young blonde in a comforting hug. "So, what do we have next?"

"You don't know your own schedule?" Ginny voiced, surprised.

"I have the same classes as these four, so there's no real need to. I just follow Harry and Nazz, and I get to my next class."

"That's either the smartest or dumbest thing I've ever heard." Neville voiced.

"That's my brother, the smartest dumb guy around."

Ginny gave a cheeky wave as she led Luna to their next class, smiling at Ron's stuck-out tongue.

"So, what class is next?"

"You mean you weren't kidding?" Hermione yelped, shocked.

"About what?"

Nasrin reached out to close the other girl's mouth as the group of Third Years continued towards the exit.

"Care and Coordinating." Neville supplied.

"Oh, okay…And what exactly is Care and Coordinating?"

Nasrin bit back a laugh at Ron's cluelessness and Hermione's attempts to restrain herself, and Harry squeezed her hand as he huffed in amusement.

"Coordinators raise Pokemon differently from other trainers." Neville explained. "Their focus isn't on strict battle tactics, but on elegance and grace and beauty and appeal. Coordinators have their Pokemon first perform moves in new and exciting ways, and get rated by the judges. Then they battle against fellow Coordinators. Not only does the battle determine who moves on, but the style of the Pokemon earns them more points that can help in their placing."

"Why do that when you can just attack?" Ron wondered. "Bang, boom! Real simple."

"I think it sounds interesting." Nasrin voiced, and Harry shrugged.

"It's kinda like Gauntlet running. The attacks and moves I teach Eevee aren't ones I might teach him if he were just doing straight battles for Gym Badges."

"Some say that Coordinating is the thinking man's Pokemon training." Hermione stated.

"Well, it'll have to wow me to prove that it isn't just a waste of time." Ron huffed.

The quintet reached that large open field where Professor Hooch had taught Environmental Survival in First Year, only to find undisturbed grass and picnic blankets in red and purple.

Once settled on a red blanket near the front, Neville let out Flora to soak up the sun while Harry and Nasrin's own Pokemon popped out to lounge happily.

"Well, this is rather nice." The Potter stated as Eevee and Scooby sprawled across his lap, Snow curling up between him and Nasrin with Ludwig settled on her back, chattering away.

"How are we supposed to take notes without any desks?" Hermione fretted as Togetic and Squeakers settled on Nasrin's chin-length curls, Prince curling around the half-Gem's back to see better while Squishie plopped onto Dobby's lap for a good scratch. "Oh, maybe we'll get clipboards!"

"Alright then, alright then!" Hagrid called as the students sat, lumbering forward. "Sit down, kids!"

Everyone was surprised to see the giant wearing a white lab coat and- _for him_ -rather professional clothes, a far cry from the rumpled gatekeeper they all knew.

"Hagrid, what are you doing here?" Harry asked, Hedwig and Robin blinking in agreement.

"Actually, that'd be Professor Hagrid, Harry." The giant corrected, beaming. "I'm taking old Professor Kettleburn's position as Hogwarts Coordinator Professor."

"I didn't know you were a coordinator." Nasrin realized, the pink stars in Star's eyes shining brighter.

"Course I am! What do you all think I do when school is out of session? Me and Snubbull and Steelbeak have won all sorts of awards and trophies!"

Seeming to realize he needed to get class started, Hagrid smiled sheepishly.

"Oops. Sorry about that. Anyway, I'm Professor Hagrid, and this is Pokemon Care and Coordinating 101. This year, we're gonna learn the basics of the Coordinator Contest! At the end of this year, I'll be having each of you demonstrate a move you might use to dazzle the judges."

The giant clapped his hands, grinning.

"Now, the first part of a Coordinator Contest has a Pokemon performing moves in such a way as to surprise and entertain the audience."

"Like a clown at a circus." Draco muttered, earning chuckles from his hangers-on and a glare from the quintet of Gryffindors.

"Not quite." Hagrid answered, not realizing the insult. "Though you can go that route. Trainers can go all sorts of ways when it comes to performing. You can be dramatic or stylish or funny…Here, let me show you!"

Hagrid turned to rummage through the large bag he had brought along, muttering.

"Now where did I put you, Steelbeak?"

Draco stood up with a scoff, dramatic as always.

"I don't have time for this. I thought this class was supposed to teach us something, not have us watch some buffoon bumble about! The standards here at Hogwarts have truly slipped, and I think my father will be really interested to hear about just who Professor Dumbledore is having teach Avalon's future Gym Leaders. But if you stupid little Gryffindors want to sit around and get an easy grade rather than better yourselves, feel free-"

Hermione's foot snapped out, tripping the blonde Slytherin, and Nasrin stared in shock, Togetic and Squeakers yelping in unison.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK-?"

"Steelbeak, use Iron Feathers and Reflect!"

Razor-sharp metal feathers flew down, embedding themselves in the ground around the class, including two where Draco had once stood, and the entire clearing lit up with an ethereal glow, silencing the Slytherin's anger and everyone's doubts.

When the light faded, and Draco was seated once more, a great cry filled the air, and Nasrin finally turned her head to join Harry in watching Hagrid scratch the chin of a happy Skarmory.

"That there was Steelbeak's Mirror Works Dance." The giant informed them proudly. "Won us first four years ago at the Avalon Coordinator Contest, it did. If you listen to what I tell you, you and your Pokemon will be able to do the same."

Nasrin shared a look with Harry, however, before their gazes turned back to Hermione.

Like with Battle class, she had known Draco would get hit by Steelbeak's feathers, and purposely tripped him to prevent it.

But there was no way she could predict the future…

 _Right?_


	13. Chapter 13

When Saturday dawned bright and clear and warm, a Harvest Summer, Nasrin and Harry decided to take advantage of the nice weather before Avalon's usual wet, cold fall swept back in and forced them to bundle up.

Eevee cooed in delight as Harry ran a fluffy towel along his tail, and Scooby's tongue lolled happily as Nasrin dried his belly, tail thumping against her thigh.

This island was small and relatively uninhabited, and perfect for bonding with their Pokemon.

Zygarde rumbled as Lion hooked a foreleg over the large snake's neck, grooming the black scales of his head lazily, metallic pink mane gleaming in the sunlight.

"Lion's not really mine." Nasrin had explained, a touch sheepish. "He's a friend to everyone who has the Rose Quartz Gem, but he pretty much comes and goes whenever he wants. If I call him when in trouble, he usually shows up, like in the Chamber."

Still, Harry rather liked the laidback Sunne Pokemon, and was amused that yet another Rose Quartz legacy was pink.

Scooby rolled onto his paws once his Lucky Scarf was tied back into place, and Snow stepped up daintily, lifting her chin so her own could be untied.

Harry had wanted to get all his Pokemon matching items, and Nasrin had agreed, getting Lucky Scarves for all of hers except Star and Robin, who rather liked their gems.

Ludwig floated around nervously, a little cocktail umbrella protecting his flame in case anyone shook themselves dry, and yelped when it caught on fire.

Dobby happily popped into the Hogwarts Trainer Shop to purchase a little umbrella hat once Snow put out the small flames with an icy breath, which Ludwig accepted sheepishly.

Star already had her turn, and was still sunbathing in a nearby kiddie pool with Robin sitting on her belly, half-asleep.

Snow slit one eye open as Squeakers hopped around Nasrin, squeaking impatiently for his turn as shampoo was gently worked into white fur.

"It's not going to work." Harry warned as Togetic floated about, trying to get Hedwig to play with her to cut in line.

With a pout, the little Fairy buzzed over to Zygarde and sat on his head despite the Order Pokemon's hiss and Lion's chuff.

Unlike Star or Robin, she seemed to enjoy flaunting her type advantage over the Beast of Slytherin, even if in a straight fight, there would be no chance.

"One of these days, he's going to stop putting up with that." Nasrin pointed out, rinsing the bubbles away while running a brush through the icy Vulpix's rapidly-freezing coat.

"Then you'll be sorry." Harry added, and Zygarde nodded slightly in agreement, though neither Legendary made a move to dislodge the brooding Togetic.

"Alright, buddy, you're all set." Harry decided, tying Eevee's Lucky Scarf back around his neck.

The seller had claimed that said scarf would allow Pokemon to get off stronger hits more easily, but Harry thought they just looked cool, not believing in all that mumbo jumbo.

 _Even though the Great Harry Potter has seen much mumbo of the jumbo?_ Dobby projected, wearing his own Lucky Scarf like a toga.

With a snap of the fingers, he summoned some dry soap for Ludwig, and the Litwick submitted to a cleaning once shown no water was involved.

"I don't think Speaking is magic." Nasrin pointed out, retying Snow's and finally snatching up Squeakers, who squirmed happily as she undid his scarf.

"It's different." Harry agreed, working the powder into Ludwig's waxy skin.

 _Perhaps, Great Harry Potter and Good Nazzie, but Dobby thinks people once thought sames about Speaking!_

The half-Gem giggled at that, rubbing a damp cloth into the star-burst scars around Squeakers' cheek-sacs, as Harry rolled his eyes.

"You're spending way too much time around Remus."

Zygarde snorted, and the boy paused while wiping his hands clean.

"And you stay out of this!"

Boneless with pleasure, the Pikachu allowed himself to be snuggled amid Eevee, Scooby, Snow and Ludwig's cuddle-pile as Squishie flopped down to be pampered, humming as water was gently sluiced through fluffy fur.

Hedwig, ignoring Togetic's last attempt to distract her, flew to Harry's outstretched arm to have her feathers preened, and Robin trilled a comforting tune.

By the time Harry was satisfied with his work, Nasrin had finished with Squishie and Robin, years of practice making her thorough and efficient.

Rubbing a hand over Prince's helmet, the pinkette hummed as she brushed coarse black fur, careful of the patches of purple scales that broke through across his flanks.

Despite her stubbornness, Togetic eventually flew down to be pampered as well, chirping in delight as the preening comb was worked through her feathers.

 _Great Harry Potter, Good Nazzie_ , Dobby projected, gaze shifting to the right. _Peoples is coming_.

 _Are we in danger?_ Harry sent back as Nasrin tensed, one hand falling to the sword on her back while Zygarde and Lion reared up, Star rising to join Eevee, Scooby, Ludwig, Snow, Squishie, Squeakers and Prince as they stood in defensive positions around their trainers, Hedwig and Robin taking to the air.

 _Dobby no sense them be bad for you, but that no means they good_.

The Third Years shared a look, Harry automatically running the comb through Togetic's feathers.

 _So powerful and dangerous_ …

 _But giving no psychic reading that they want to do us harm_ …

 _Yes, Great Harry Potter, Good Nazzie_.

Harry's jaw clenched, likely cursing his ban on Speaking and knowing Nasrin would refrain to keep from getting them on different pages in a battle.

Speaking would be much faster than having Dobby act as an operator, and there would be hours to come up with plans while only a second passed in reality…

 _Dark Queen of All and High King of Thunder say Great Harry Potter is 'wussy'_ , Dobby informed them, and Harry glared down at Togetic and then over at Squeakers, who both looked unrepentant. _Dobby tell them Great Harry Potter not wussy_.

 _Thanks, Dobby_ , Nasrin thought back with a giggle, already moving to stand as Harry huffed.

They still had intruders to identify, after all.

"Wotcher! I told you we should have warned them before we stomped up! Have their whole bloody army out to meet and greet!"

"Tonks." Harry realized as the pink-haired girl released her sword, smiling.

"Look at you, all noble and proud, ready to take on the big bad intruders!" The Auror teased as she pinched the boy's cheek, her hair a brilliant shade of yellow that day. "It's just too cute!"

"Barely a Third Year and already getting felt up by older women." Sirius voiced with a chuckle as he approached with Padfoot and his little Duskull, Bones. "Knew you took after me, Pronglet!"

"I don't know about that, Sirius." Harry noted, and Nasrin smiled guilelessly.

"Unless you want to tell us about the older _cousins_ you were attracting."

"Merlin, don't!" Tonks gagged. "That's my mum, Aunt Narcissa and Aunt Bellatrix! I don't want to picture you with any of them."

Sirius nodded in agreement, shuddering lightly.

"No offense to your mum, as she's a classy lady, but her sisters…Yeah, that was a joke that went too far."

"It's okay." Nasrin assured her Pokemon, petting Star's head as the Brionne eyed Tonks and Sirius warily.

"They're friends." Harry agreed, motioning for them to back down.

"By Merlin's hairy nipples, an actual Zygarde!" Sirius yelped, spotting the large Legendary first before noticing the- _comparatively_ -smaller one next. "And a Solgaleo!"

The Lord of Sevii stepped forward, hand outstretched, before looking to the thirteen-year-olds for permission.

"Don't look at us." Harry replied, shrugging.

"They're our friends, not slaves." Nasrin agreed.

"If you want to pet Zygarde or Lion, you need to ask them yourself."

Zygarde slithered forward, looking down at the man for a moment before lowering his head so Sirius could pet his scaly snout.

Lion stepped up then, butting his head against the startled Lord's other arm, and growled happily as he got a good scratch under the chin.

"You're trembling!" Tonks realized, teasing.

"Damn right I am!" Sirius yelped back. "A whole island of Dusknoir is nothing compared to touching an actual Legendary!"

"Try fighting one, right?" Tonks noted, elbowing Harry and Nasrin.

"Wouldn't wish it on anyone." Nasrin admitted as Harry reached out scratch beneath Zygarde's chin.

"And who's this guy?" The Auror wondered, eyeing Prince as he slid in around the pinkette's other side, towering over her measly five-foot frame and watching the proceedings quietly.

"They call his kind Type: Null." Nasrin explained, reaching up to smooth down the Synthetic Pokemon's mane. "Pearl and Amethyst found him cryogenically frozen in an abandoned lab."

"Someone made him?" Sirius voiced, shocked and sympathetic.

"And others." Harry admitted, remembering the story sadly.

"We think they were made to mimic Arceus and his ability to change types." Nasrin continued, and Dobby reached up to pat the canine-like Pokemon's helmeted head in empathy. "And when it failed, they were frozen."

"What are you two doing here?" Harry wondered at last, redirecting.

"We were in the area and decided to update you on the search." Sirius answered flippantly.

"And by 'in the area', he means we travelled half of Avalon just to get here." Tonks translated dryly.

"Close enough." Sirius replied, sitting on the grass after one last pat to Zygarde.

Snow trotted up with Ludwig on her back, inspecting the Lord to be sure he meant their trainers no harm, and a wonder-filled gaze settled on Sirius' face.

"A Litwick. Haven't seen one of these in ages. How did you get one?"

"He was a Winter Solstice gift." Harry recalled with a shrug.

"We figure Lily's Chandelure was his mother." Nasrin added, picking up Squishie before the grumpy Pokemon could flail off Tonks' cooing affection.

The Lord of Sevii scowled.

"Putting pressure on me to come up with something amazing, aren't you? And is that a shiny Rockruff?"

Scooby chuffed, shaking out his ears, and Nasrin nodded.

"My dad's Lycanroc was his mother, too."

"I remember learning all about Lily Potter's Pokemon. Her Chandelure was her go-to Pokemon after her Blaziken." Tonks noted with a long whistle. "The Beast of Slytherin, an albino Hoothoot like Morgan Le Fay's, Lucius Malfoy's Alakazam, and the child of one of Lily Potter's Pokemon? Wotcher, next you'll be telling us that Togepi belonged to Voldemort."

"Eevee, actually." Harry informed them.

"And only the Egg." Nasrin recalled.

Sirius and Tonks stared blankly at the Third Years, who blinked back.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing…" The Lord waved off, fighting back laughter. "Just wishing James were here to see you pranking all of Avalon, Harry."

Sharing a look, they decided it was best to just get back on-topic.

"So, update on the search for the traitor?" Nasrin prompted.

"Oh, right!" Tonks remembered. "Rotom!"

The Plasma Pokemon flew over with a grin, transforming into a laptop and sending a blue energy bolt to his trainer's wrist-mounted Pokedex, which let out an acknowledging PING.

"Clever girl, Nymphie." Sirius stated in a stage-whisper. "Dexes can be hacked or stolen, but digitally send the information to a Ghost Pokemon that can transform into an electronic device? You couldn't encrypt better security than that!"

"So, obviously we have some leads, otherwise I wouldn't have let Sirius drag me away from work to come and visit you. No offense, little cousin."

"None taken." Harry assured, Hedwig and Robin settling on his shoulders.

"I'm going to assume these leads aren't big enough to lead to any arrests." Nasrin deduced, Togetic and Squeakers landing on her head lightly while Star curled around the back of her neck.

"Got it in one." Tonks praised with a wink. "This is going to take time and effort, so it's important you two have more patience than Lord Skull Face over here."

"Hey! That mask is cool!" Sirius complained, leaning over to whisper playfully. "Helped me bag Trainer Monthly's August centerfold. Should have seen what she was hiding under that jacket, Harry. Don't worry, I took plenty of pictures."

"Still only thirteen." Harry reminded him.

"And in a relationship." Nasrin noted dryly, Scooby and Snow chuffing laughs at the man's pout.

"I _so_ can't wait for this to be over so I can talk to Remus. At least _he's_ old enough for me to share dirty pictures with."

"Could we?" Tonks piped up, rolling her eyes.

"By all means, colorful hair before beauty."

"Okay, so the problem with this investigation is that the Aurors at the time were looking in all the wrong places." The Auror explained. "They thought Peter Pettigrew was the guilty party, and that Sirius was dead, so they focused all their attention on how Peter got onto Little Surrey. The boat Sirius and him used, what his actions were the day before your parents' murder, his finances, the whole works. Really good detective work, save for the fact that it's all focused on a victim. Now, this is good and bad news. The good news is that, since we know Peter is innocent, we have plenty of things to look over that the Aurors never did. If he was the guilty party and had faked his death, or something-"

"Which is stupid and cliché." Sirius pointed out. "Seriously, faking your own death is so hackneyed."

"-Then we'd be chasing the same leads the Aurors were, and would be in for a real mess."

"Okay." Harry acknowledged.

"And the bad news?" Nasrin prompted.

"The bad news is that the good news would be wonderful…if this were 1981."

"Basically, we're dealing with evidence that should have been collected a decade ago." Sirius explained with a sigh. "Eyewitnesses who are either dead or haven't thought about that night in years, evidence that has been lost by the Aurors or the ravages of time…"

"So we're bloody well screwed?" Harry finished with a groan.

"Now, we didn't say that." The Lord corrected.

"There's one major piece of information that's really helping us out." Tonks agreed. "Our Nocturne grunt is a Pokemagnus."

"Oh, yeah. Do you think he's on the official registry?" Harry wondered, before deflating. "And a Nocturne grunt would naturally not register…"

"Hell, I'm not even registered, kiddo." Sirius pointed out. "Your dad and Remus and Peter weren't, either. Remus might now be, considering he's all legit and stuff, but the rest of us never bothered. Was a fun secret between the four of us. And once Remus gets you two trained, you're to put off registering until this is settled. I'll talk him out of making you a decent and law-abiding citizen. My sacred duty as your revolutionist godfather."

"But lucky for us, we can use that to our advantage." Tonks continued.

Nasrin's eyes widened as she caught on.

"If you never registered as Pokemagnuses…"

"How did the grunt know that Peter was a Raticate Pokemagnus?" Harry finished, startled by the revelation.

"Exactly!" Tonks replied. "That narrows down the field considerably."

"And we have a way to narrow it down even more." Sirius added with a smile.

"How?" Harry asked, Scooby and Eevee leaning forward with him in excitement.

"Minnie-Professor McGonagall, for her Fifth Years, she performs a test to determine if they have the potential to become Pokemagnuses. She keeps the records a secret, and only lets each person know their own results. That's what inspired us Marauders to actually try and become Pokemagnus."

"Professor McGonagall doesn't throw anything away." Tonks continued. "I once got detention with her, and she had me help her file away paperwork for students that had graduated in 1983! She keeps every scrap and every test."

"Including the Pokemagnus results." Sirius finished. "We get those, and we can begin crossing off a ton of suspects' names from our list!"

"How are we going to get them?" Nasrin wondered, Snow and Ludwig watching the exchange with interest.

"Are you going to get a warrant or something?" Harry elaborated.

"Sorry, but no." Tonks admitted. "Again, we can't risk letting anyone know about this, even Professor McGonagall."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Harry agreed, Hedwig and Robin bobbing their heads.

"So how are we getting the files?" Nasrin asked again, Prince huffing.

Sirius' face split into such a wide grin, it was a surprise the man failed to hurt himself.

"I'm the King of Pranks, and I'm thinking of one that's going to have the entire school talking, and give you plenty of time to do the deed."

The Lord of Sevii wrapped an arm each around the Third Years' shoulders.

"What do you say? Wanna help us rob Hogwarts?"


	14. Chapter 14

Harry was the only person completely unsurprised when Nasrin proved to be a natural at Coordinating.

"Bubble Wave!"

Star rose on her tail and spun, blowing bubbles in a wide circle as Squeakers built a charge in his cheek-sacs, letting the electricity out in a wave-

The whole class gasped as the bubbles caught this sparking energy for a dazzling moment before popping, the water vapor reflecting rainbows across the grass, and Hagrid beamed.

"That was an amazing combination, Nazz!" The giant praised, forgetting all professionalism in his excitement. "Definitely an A!"

Nasrin grinned as applause came from her fellow Gryffindors, Star bowing deeply in recognition.

"Of course the freak is good at this. Make a few sparkles, and everyone claps."

Harry and Ron turned to glare at the Slytherins, Hedwig and Robin hissing like tea kettles, and that Sharpedo smile slid onto Nasrin's face.

"Why, Draco, I'm surprised!" She voiced, Star already giggling behind a flipper. "To think you'd call me beautiful right in front of your girlfriend! Are you trying to say something?"

The blonde sputtered, going red, and Pansy practically leapt to her feet, fists clenched.

"Draco never-!"

"Well, Coordinating is all about bringing out the beauty of your Pokemon." The half-Gem pointed out easily. "If you expected me to be good at it, then that means you think me and my Pokemon are just naturally beautiful. Honestly, I never thought you'd be so forward!"

Draco seemed to be choking on his own words, and Pansy stomped her foot angrily, far too upset to come up with a witty retort at that moment.

"While I'm certainly flattered, I'd much rather snog a Garbodor if given the choice." Nasrin chirped brightly, Squeakers snickering as Snow and Scooby yipped in laughter. "But maybe you'll impress him with a better combination, Pansy."

Gryffindor burst into laughter at the fuming Slytherins, and Harry smiled as the pink-haired girl plopped down next to him, Togetic and Squeakers reuniting in her lap.

"Have I mentioned how amazing you are today?"

Nasrin giggled, stars shining in dark eyes, and just grinned.


	15. Chapter 15

Fred and George had spent the entire summer doing odd jobs around Tor Town to save up money, which they then spent on pranking gear and new, high-tech trainer jackets.

While they looked like the usual Gryffindor red-and-gold design, each had a plethora of secrets, though they revealed one to the Gauntlet team.

On the back of Fred's was the image of a Plusle, and George's a Minun, but with the click of a button, these could be switched out for the other in an instant to confuse pursuing players.

Add in the hidden COMM devices in their collars, and the twins bragged that they could seem to be in four places at once.

Oliver, who would normally have been against such a just-barely-legal move, had instead gone into an impassioned speech about how this was his last chance at glory and that they would be doing everything legal to ensure wins.

Harry and Nasrin shared a look at this strange development, concerned, before asking Katie what had their captain so fired up.

"This is his last year." The older Defender explained with a long-suffering sigh. "In ten months, he'll be eligible to try out for a professional team. A good showing this year could let him leap-frog through the minor leagues and have a better shot at a major franchise."

With another shared look, the Third Years almost immediately went to talk with Sirius about their upcoming theft, unwilling to jeopardize Oliver's chance at his dream job.

Nasrin felt as strongly about catching the traitor as Harry did, knowing whoever it was deserved to pay for all the death that long-gone Halloween night, but their efforts to catch this person would not come at anyone else's expense.

Luckily, Sirius had understood, and the plan was tweaked enough to prevent any such casualties.

 _Honestly, this one was even better_.

* * *

The Battle of the Sands arena was based on a clash between the Northern Sand Witches and Southern Desert Raiders of Unova, which ended with both wicked tribes wiped out of history.

The clay houses were very tightly packed, sharing walls and doorways, bridges connecting rooftop to rooftop, with the goal being for each Runner to cross the arena from opposite sides, unlike most where both raced to reach the same goal.

Star rose on her tail, twisting to take in the roaring crowd with a radiant smile, and Nasrin reached down to pass a hand over her Brionne's soft ears.

Remus, in his old Gryffindor Jersey- _he had apparently been a sub for James_ -, Ron, and- _surprisingly_ -Ginny were screaming excitedly as the opening announcements ended, while Neville called out encouragement at a more reasonable volume compared to his Housemates, Flora in his lap.

Harry smiled slightly when he spotted Hermione and Luna, who were wearing matching Arcanine hats like the half-Veela had worn at the Honor Duel last year, which had apparently been upgraded to spew bursts of flame.

Those two brought out the best in each other, Nasrin believed, and it helped to repair the damage that had been rendered outside the Chamber.

Their eyes met, flicking across to see Draco still had his spot as Slytherin's Runner, and almost smiled.

 _Lucius Malfoy might regret bribing his son's way onto the team after this game_ …

The starting buzzer blared, and they were off.

Instead of making a mad dash straight ahead, as was expected of a Runner, the Third Years split off to either side, Nasrin activating a trap while Harry grabbed a flag, and left the rest of their team to meet Slytherin head-on.

Swinging up onto a clay archway, the half-Gem flashed a hand-signal and Star drenched an entire section of street with Surf, effectively creating a ten-by-ten-foot sand pit.

Hands open, she caught Harry as he jumped, swinging the boy up onto a nearby rooftop to activate a booby-trap, Eevee darting around his feet to snag another flag.

Glancing across the arena, Nasrin snorted as Draco and his Roggenrola were forced to backtrack thanks to Fred and George rushing them, Plusle and Minun firing off bolts of lightning.

Star trilled, leaping away in an Aqua Jet to reach a flag that hung from a windowsill, and Nasrin pushed off, grabbing the edge of a rooftop to swing herself to the right while Harry and Eevee went left.

The goal was to set up every trap and grab every flag they could, make a wall that Slytherin could not pass, and run out the clock.

 _Now, the Gauntlet was a whole different beast_.

Katie gave a three-note whistle that made Star yip, and Nasrin crossed rooftops towards her teammate, leaping over a collapsed wall to retrieve a flag that blocked the Fourth Year.

Another yip, and she was off again, pulling Angelina free before she could be sucked further into a sand pit that had already taken down a Slytherin.

While Harry fortified their booby-trapped home base, the pinkette helped their other teammates grab flags and get around obstacles, taking a couple moments to appreciate how frazzled Draco was getting as time wore on.

The Prince of Slytherin was being pushed around all over, unable to even catch his breath, and setting off every trap he came across.

Even the ones set by his own teammates!

Oh, if only the other Slytherins realized Harry was not anywhere close enough to set those off…

Star muffled her giggles behind a flipper as Draco activated a hidden sand mine, burying himself in a nearby sand dune with only his flailing legs free.

Looking up from a doorway below, Harry gave a signal, and Nasrin dropped down to join him just as a thick fog descended over the arena.

Eevee and Star were on-alert, leading their trainers to the nearest emergency exit that had revealed itself, a quick way to help injured players or evacuate during a fire that did not require taking down the anti-teleportation barrier that prevented such travel within the arena.

It opened with a groan, and Sirius helped the Third Years through, voice soft.

"You okay?"

Both nodded, and his Fairy jangled happily.

"Nice job, Klefki." The Lord praised, recalling the Steel/Fairy-type once the door was relocked. "Hagrid once let me carry some of his keys. I may have made a few copies."

"You're a horrible person." Harry stated as Padfoot let out a howl.

A few Dusknoir floated around, sending out mild waves of fear, and Star eyed them warily.

"And you're any better?" Sirius retorted playfully.

"Yes." Both responded together, unimpressed.

"Now are we going to rob Hogwarts or not?" Nasrin finished, Star curling around her neck.

Sirius nodded, motioning for them to lead the way, and Eevee yipped, locking onto the scent trail he needed before racing up the hill towards Hogwarts.

Letting out another ghostly howl, Padfoot joined him, and the three trainers rushed to keep both canine-like Pokemon in sight, hoping to avoid running into anyone else amid the thinning fog.

"Nice work, Nymphie." Sirius called out as they reached the Auror and her Castform, who was happily belching out fog.

"Would you keep your voice down?" Tonks whined. "Not everyone went to the game, and there might be a few people who decided to wander back up to the castle."

"Come on, let's live dangerously!"

"We're breaking into Professor McGonagall's office." Nasrin reminded him dryly.

"And to steal private personal documents." Tonks agreed. "I think we're living quite dangerously enough!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, donning the white skull mask, while the Auror pulled out a makeup kit.

Harry and Nasrin shared a look before letting out Ludwig, who cast his Invisibility over the group.

"That's just cheating." The Lord sulked, pouting as Tonks flashed them a thumbs-up.

"You're just mad that you could never convince my mum to let you use her Litwick for pranking." Harry teased.

"I swear, Lily was born without a funny bone!"

Star reached up to give Sirius a good slap upside the head, and Nasrin just smiled at the man's growing pout, waving to Castform as Tonks led the way.

"Alright, so it's not that I don't trust your little…candle, Harry, but I think I'll be overly cautious." The woman stated, sending out her Rotom into the school's security system to shut down and reroute devices.

"Aw, but I wanted to be all sneaky-like, tiptoeing around corners and having to repel down elevator shafts!"

Harry, Nasrin and Tonks merely gave him dry looks, and Sirius pouted.

"Party poopers, no cake for you. Padfoot."

The Dark Pokemon sniffed and growled, nose pointing right.

"Filch."

"Then left it is." Nasrin voiced, leading the other three down another path to Professor McGonagall's office.

"So, is it Ludwig?" Sirius wondered.

"Huh?" Both Third Years replied, confused.

"Ludwig." The man repeated, rolling his eyes. "Is it him?"

"What are you talking about?" Harry finally asked, ignoring Tonks' hiss to shush.

"Which one of your Pokemon is going to be your Pokemagnus partner? Eevee? Ludwig? Is Star going to be your partner, Nasrin?"

"First off, you can only be a Pokemagnus partner with a Pokemon that has a single evolution and hasn't evolved, which rules out Eevee, Ludwig _and_ Star." Tonks lectured. "Something _you_ should know!"

Sirius shrugged, flashing a guileless smile.

"Truth be told, Remus was in charge of the prep work. James and I spent most of our time trying to figure out how to attach a camera to Wormtail's back so he could-"

"I don't even want to know." The Auror cut in.

"It's not what you think! We wanted to see up girls' skirts."

Harry and Nasrin snorted as Tonks gave her cousin a foul look.

"That's _exactly_ what I was thinking."

"It was? Nice to know you have a filthy, perverted mind, Nymphie."

"What was number two?" Nasrin wondered as they arrived as Professor McGonagall's door, Sirius calling out his Klefki while Star, Eevee, Ludwig and Padfoot kept watch.

"You said 'first off'…" Harry agreed.

"Second, you three need to keep quiet before we get caught." Tonks finished.

"You're the one being loud, Nymphie." Sirius stated, the door swinging open. "Alright, let's find that file and get out of here."

"Where are we looking?" Nasrin questioned, stepping inside as Star peered around.

"Minnie is old school." Sirius informed them, caressing one of the many file cabinets. "No electronic documents for her. Nope, nothing but hard copy."

"She'll have them all together, sorted by date." Tonks continued, opening a drawer and thumbing through the contents. "Of course, she also keeps almost every memo and document she gets, so we might be here a while."

"We just have to think it through." The half-Gem replied, sharing a glance with Harry.

"She gets a new file every year, and she keeps them together."

"That means we're looking for a whole drawer by itself."

"One that isn't close to her desk, because she would want to use those for documents she needs to get out and check regularly."

"But it wouldn't be hard to get to, because she needs to add a new file each year."

"Look at the little Sherlocks!" Sirius voiced proudly. "He gets that from me."

"Sure he does." Tonks replied, rolling her eyes.

"These ones." Harry decided, selected a set of drawers towards the back wall.

"Just enough dust-"

"Okay, okay, we get it, pups!" Sirius cut in with a laugh. "Now open it up!"

Nasrin slid open the middle drawer, and the Lord pumped his fist victoriously when each neatly-lined folder proclaimed themselves 'Pokemagnus Results'.

"You did it, pups! You did it!"

"Indeed they did."

The quartet went ramrod straight in surprise as Professor McGonagall's voice appeared behind them, Star hiding her face behind both flippers with an apologetic whine.

"Now then, Mister Potter, Miss Universe, imagine my surprise to find not only you, but Miss Tonks, who really should be at her job rather that acting like a common criminal, skulking around my office with a strange man-"

"Not so strange, Minnie." Sirius voiced, slowly turning while pulling off his mask. "Surprise?"

Staring at the man, Professor McGonagall silently shut and locked her door, crossed to her desk, pulled out a bottle of Cianwood Whiskey, and poured three drinks.

"Explain. Now."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **As you all are likely aware, Hurricane Irma is heading right for Florida and the states directly north of it starting late tonight. Being in it's direct path, where this deadly storm is expected to make landfall, I know that this will mean likely weeks without electricity, water, or even internet/cell coverage. My family has done all we can to prepare, and I can only hope those also in Hurricane Irma's path have done the same.**

 **This will be the last update until Florida picks itself up again, and I hope to be here updating when that happens.**

 **Stay safe.**

 **ChibiLover123**


	16. Chapter 16

Explaining what had happened to Professor McGonagall was heartbreaking.

This woman had thought three of her students dead, one a traitor to the others, and carried that weight for more than a decade.

To suddenly learn that one lived, and the supposed traitor died a hero, on top of the hardships Sirius had endured since then, was hard.

But McGonagall would not let anyone sugarcoat the facts, and eventually agreed to keep their secret, though not indefinitely.

"I won't stay silent forever, Mister Black. You best have results soon, or else I'll end this farce of yours."

There was a strange mixture of relief and anxiety at this, though Nasrin did not voice it.

Professor McGonagall had not been pleased to learn that her former student had joined the Sons of Johto and become a killer, which stood in stark contrast to how the Order of Moltres had handled their own war against Team Nocturne.

The headmaster, as their leader, had claimed that to kill would make them no better than their enemies.

"Jack had a response to that, the first time I told him of Dumbles' theory." Sirius noted afterwards, when the Third Years had asked. "He looked me right in the eye and said, 'There would be one key difference, boyo. We're still alive'. He also pointed out that Team Nocturne only lost when your mum decided she'd rather kill Voldemort than stand by and see if hoping really hard would save you."

The Lord had placed a hand on each of their shoulders, smiling weakly.

"I get it, I really do. And no one is asking you to run out and begin shooting Team Nocturne members in the face. Dumbledore believes that if we retaliate like that, it'll only lead to escalation. The problem is that, if you don't draw a line in the sand, then there's nothing to prevent your enemy from escalating things anyway."

Nasrin had thought about this quietly, wondering if her own father had ever been willing to cross that line…


	17. Chapter 17

When Reuniclus and Dobby put her into a trance-like state, scanning for a bond strong enough for merging, Nasrin had no idea which of her Pokemon it would be.

Unlike Harry, who had already gone through the test and found Hedwig was the path of least resistance, she had two Pokemon- _Snow and Squishie_ -who fulfilled the requirements and were close to her.

Would she merge with the Vulpix and become an Ice/Fairy Ninetales?

Or become a hulking, fuzzy Bewear with Squishie?

Blinking the trance away, Nasrin looked up at the pair of Psychic-types curiously.

"So?"

Dobby and Reuniclus glanced at each other, confused, before turning to the pacing Prince.

 _Princie is strongest merge-bond_ , the Alakazam projected to everyone, Remus' eyes going wide as both Third Years stared at the Type: Null in shock.

"I did _not_ see that coming." Harry admitted, Hedwig bobbing her head in agreement.

As the Battle Professor muttered to himself, as if trying to reason out how a man-made Pokemon could possibly evolve, she locked eyes with Prince and sank into the Speaker Realm.

" _You evolve?_ " She asked softly, and those light gray eyes blinked back, equally confused.

" _I was not aware I had that ability_." Prince admitted, voice low. " _Other Pokemon such as myself do not_."

Remembering her studies of Mewtwo and Genesect, both Pokemon made to mimic Legendaries, Nasrin admitted that it had not seemed possible.

" _So this test says that we are capable of being Pokemagnus partners_." The Synthetic Pokemon noted, unsure.

" _If you're uncomfortable with this, we won't do it_." The pinkette promised, firm. " _This is about you and me_ wanting _to come together, to be two halves making a greater whole. If you don't feel…If you don't feel like that's what you want, I'll forget about it_."

Prince said nothing for a long moment, just watching her…

A low, rumbling laugh filled the darkness, and it was her turn to blink in surprise.

" _You have proven my original assessment correct at every turn, Nasrin Quartz_." He replied, a smile in his aura. " _You promised the day we met to protect me from my enemies. Today, I offer you my strength to defeat yours_."

Taking in a deep breath as the world faded back into view, the half-Gem watched as Prince stepped up, startling Remus into silence, and dropped to one knee as he had so many months ago.

With a choked little laugh at the dramatics, Nasrin tackled the massive chimera-Pokemon in a hug, Gem glowing bright pink.

 _It might not have been what she expected, but it was what they needed_.


	18. Chapter 18

"In order to bond, you need to be able to connect in such a way that you already feel as if the two of you are halves of a greater whole. Like when you two Sync up or Fuse. First, you feel where they are. You must develop this, until you know where they stand just as you know where your hand is. They must be like a limb, always there, even if you aren't focused upon them. Then you delve deeper, till their eyes are your eyes and you can see and hear what they do. Pushing further is the blending, when man and Pokemon become one and the same, and the power of both lends towards a Pokemagnus evolution. For some, it can go quick. Sirius and Padfoot were able to move from stage two to stage three within days. Your father, on the other hand, needed weeks to move from stage one to stage two. There isn't any real reason for it, as your father and Prongs were just as close as Sirius was to Padfoot and I am to Moony. It's just the way life is."

Remus had explained this after that initial test, saying that doing things this way ended up with a stronger bond than one could get from using a DNA Splicer, and the two Third Years had happily dived into the many exercises and tests the professor set forth.

There were synced-breathing workouts, silent command exercises, hours of studying each other, and Harry was surprised at how quickly Nasrin and Prince caught on to the whole thing.

"It makes sense, actually." Remus reasoned, thoughtful. "Like I said, Pokemagnus is very much like Fusion, only between a human and a Pokemon. Gems are naturals at it, and Nasrin has spent her whole life learning how to forge such bonds, especially with you."

With barely a twitch of the finger, Prince took off into the obstacle course blind, mismatched paws thudding against mowed grass.

"Jump!"

Without hesitation, the chimera-Pokemon leapt over a half-wall obstacle, not breaking stride upon landing.

"Right! Down!"

Harry and Remus watched, fascinated, as Prince turned sharply, skidding on his side to avoid an overhanging beam.

"Left! Up!"

Even blindfolded, the Synthetic Pokemon did not hesitate to obey, pounding up an incline-obstacle and leaping off the crest.

"Stop!"

Insectoid forelegs biting into the soil brought him to a screeching halt inches from Nasrin, who barely blinked as the six-foot-tall Pokemon came close to running her over.

"Great job, Prince." She praised, hopping up to untie the cloth. "You did amazing."

He huffed, pleased, and Harry looked up at his guardian with wide eyes.

All Remus could do was shrug.

"Gems."


	19. Chapter 19

Sitting against the softer fur of Prince's underbelly, Nasrin curled up under Harry's arm with a sigh, watching the pile of Pokemon before them rise and fall with even, measured breaths.

A hand carded through her curls, rhythmic and gentle, and she looked up to take in the far-off expression that had settled across his face.

He had hit a wall with their Pokemagnus training, struggling with their latest exercise to pinpoint Hedwig in a pitch-black room, and she knew it was frustrating the boy, especially when sensing Prince had come so easily to her those first days.

Lower lip turning a bright red with abuse, Nasrin finally sat up, taking Harry's hands in her own when he turned, confused.

"There's a lesson Garnet taught me as a child that's important for Fusion." The half-Gem whispered. "Maybe it can help you."

Curious, Harry shifted to face her, clasping one hand each with his own.

Legs folding into a meditative position, the pink-haired teenager took a deep, cleansing breath in preparation.

" _Take a moment to think of just, flexibility, love and trust_ … _Take a moment to think of just, flexibility, love and trust_ …"

Star twitched from her position sprawled across Prince's helmet, her own voice rising in harmony.

" _Here comes a thought that might alarm you, what someone said and how it harmed you, something you did that failed to be charming, things that you said are suddenly swarming_ …"

Hedwig hopped over from the cuddle-pile, fluttering up to Harry's shoulder as Prince lifted his head.

" _And oh, you're losing sight, you're losing touch_ … _All these little things seem to matter so much, that they confuse you_ … _That I might lose you_ …"

His fingers squeezed around hers, and Nasrin smiled.

" _Take a moment, remind yourself, to take a moment and find yourself, take a moment and ask yourself, if this is how we fall apart_ …"

Resting his chin on the girl's shoulder, Prince hummed.

" _But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not_ … _It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay_ … _You've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear_ … _I'm here, I'm here, I'm here_."

Eevee and Scooby climbed up onto their laps as Togetic landed on Nasrin's shoulder-length ringlets, Squeakers leaning over the Fairy's shoulder.

" _And it was just a thought, just a thought, just a thought, just a thought, just a thought_ … _It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay_ … _We can watch, we can watch, we can watch, we can watch them go by, from here, from here, from here_ …"

" _Take a moment to think of just, flexibility, love and trust_ …" Harry repeated back quietly, as if etching the words into his heart, and they shifted, lips brushing-

In a flood of pink sensation, they were one, taking a deep breath as if feeling whole for the first time in months.

" _Take a moment to think of just, flexibility, love and trust_ …"


	20. Chapter 20

In the pitch-black classroom, Nasrin took in a slow breath, hands resting loosely on her knees.

Harry was across from her, also folded into a meditative stance, though his breaths were more forcibly measured than her own.

"Stop that." Remus chided from somewhere in the darkness, chuckling at the boy's frustration. "There's no use in trying to hide anything, Harry. I'm not the one who's blind."

"We wouldn't be either if you'd let us have a pair of night vision goggles." He retorted.

"Or turned on the lights." Nasrin agreed dryly.

"Hush." The Battle Professor replied. "Tune out everything else. And stop forcing it! Relax and let go!"

Shoulders rolling back, the pinkette turned her focus to locating Prince…

A little tickle in the back of her mind, like slipping into the Speaker Realm but _not_ , and she could see the chimera-Pokemon clearly in her mind's eye.

"There." She voiced, pointing left. "He's lying next to a chair, forelegs crossed."

A huff, and Prince padded over to nudge her shoulder in approval as Remus clapped to acknowledge the girl's success.

"Focus, Harry." He advised. "Come on, you know she's here. You have to pinpoint her."

Nasrin waited, timing her breaths, and Harry relaxed.

"There." The boy stated, pointing right. "She's on a chair…No, a table. Standing on her right leg."

Hedwig hooted happily, flying over to her partner as Remus turned the lights on to dim, not wanting to blow out anyone's eyes.

"Well done, both of you! You still have some issues with beginning the exercise, Harry, but once you get into the rhythm, you're perfect!"

Both Third Years smiled, and Remus looked down at his watch in surprise.

"Oh! I have to take care of something real quick. You two can cut the lesson short-"

"We'll just wait here." Nasrin assured, curling her fingers into Prince's long mane.

"We'll practice some of the silent command exercises you had us running through last week." Harry added, rubbing Hedwig's head.

"Sounds good to me." Remus replied, mussing the boy's hair before hurrying out.

"He sure left fast." The half-Gem noted, shifting to sit next to Harry and giggling when Prince sprawled across her lap with a sigh.

The boy sputtered out a laugh when Hedwig bobbed up to poke at his lips with her beak, pulling back in surprise.

"Hey! None of that, okay girl?"

Letting out a hoot, the albino bird instead tapped at his mouth a second time.

"Come on, I said stop it!"

Nasrin frowned when the Owl Pokemon did no such thing, sharing a confused look with Harry before the thought blossomed across their minds.

"Do you want him to Speak with you?"

Hedwig let out a happy cry, flapping her wings.

"I'm sorry, girl, but Remus said I-"

The Pokemon cut him off with another beak-poke, and Nasrin covered her mouth to hide a giggle.

"I really don't think she cares what Remus said about it."

"I noticed." Harry replied dryly.

Prince sighed, butting against the boy's arm with an impatient huff, and Harry just rolled his eyes in defeat.

"Fine!"

The Speaker Realm fell around the pair of humans and their Pokemon, this darkness more all-encompassing than the last.

" _There, happy?_ "

" _Very much so!_ " Hedwig claimed, that same Northern brogue that Professor McGonagall favored coloring her words. " _About time you got it through that ruddy head of yours to stop holding back!_ "

" _I'm not holding back!_ " Harry argued. " _I promised Remus not to Speak until he found me a teacher!_ "

Prince and Hedwig both gave him deadpan looks.

" _Otherwise known as holding back_." They chorused back.

" _You might buy into that excuse, but I see it for the rubbish it is!_ " The albino Hoothoot continued.

" _We have all talked, and agree that you both are skilled at Speaking_." Prince added, voice low and confident.

" _The only reason it hurt you both when you were doing it to Zygarde was because he was fighting you. That should prove you're both naturals. Only someone skilled at Speaking could force a Legendary to listen_." Hedwig finished firmly.

" _It's still dangerous_." The boy insisted.

" _And yet Nasrin Speaks with each of us every day_." Prince pointed out. " _You saw her Speak with me two months ago, before we began this endeavor. Was that dangerous?_ "

" _You put yourself in danger every bloody week, anyway!_ " Hedwig agreed. " _Worse, it's hurting you when it comes to us bonding!_ "

Both Third Years blinked, confused, and Hedwig rolled her eyes as Prince gave another long-suffering sigh.

" _Speaking, Pokemagnus, Elemental Bonding, Dream Walking…They're all playing the same song, but with different instruments. When you try to repress one, you repress them all!_ "

" _It's why Nasrin and I are progressing more easily through the exercises_." Prince noted. " _In fact, the exercises aren't necessary_."

" _The only reason folks like Remus Lupin need those exercises is because they aren't as talented as you two!_ " Hedwig agreed. " _Bloody hell, you're a savant, Harry! And Nazz, you're already unlocking Veela powers! Stop putting leashes on yourselves!_ "

While the half-Gem blinked at this latest revelation, and Harry seemed unconvinced, both Pokemon huffed.

" _What, you need proof?_ " The white-feathered Hoothoot stated. " _Fine. The next stage is the blending of senses, right? Well, keep focused on us as you pull out of Speaking, alright?_ "

Sharing a glance, the Third Years did as Hedwig said, each focusing on their own partner as the world faded back into focus.

Nasrin was startled at the pull she felt, mentally reaching out-

There was a yank, and the half-Gem's eyes opened to stare up at her own face.

"Whoa." She breathed, watching her lips move, a strange echo from two sets of ears hearing the same sound making Prince's ears twitch.

"Bloody hell." Harry agreed, and Nasrin watched her head tilt in the way Prince favored when curious.

 _I have never looked at myself before_ , Prince thought. _I_ …

Humming with his throat, Nasrin carefully rose on mismatched limbs and pressed into her own hand, feeling gentle fingers caress time-worn wood.

 _You're amazing_ , she assured, leaning Prince's substantial bulk against her body.

 _It's strange_ , he noted, testing out fingers and wrists. _I'm not used to hands_.

 _I'm not used to four legs_ , Nasrin agreed, shifting to better stand in his quadruped body and looking over to see Harry testing out Hedwig's wings clumsily. _It'll take practice_.

 _Then perhaps we should start_.

Nasrin let out a laugh as Prince took control and bounded over the nearby desks, clearing them with ease as Hedwig swooped overhead, diving and soaring.

It was strange, to feel the ground under her bum and the weight of her cropped, pink leather jacket while also bounding across the room on strong legs, ducking and leaping over obstacles.

When the albino Hoothoot settled on a chair, Nasrin and Prince stopped to share a look with the others as Harry nodded, standing.

Hedwig let out a peel of laughter, likely from the concept on standing on two legs, as the window was opened, before diving through the opening in a white blur.

 _Would you like to follow them?_

 _Let's live dangerously_ , Nasrin decided, whooping as they leaped out into the night.

Landing a few floors down was little more than a jolt through his sturdy body, and she cheered as a white shadow spun and twisted overhead, adrenaline rushing as Prince took off after them at full speed, muscles fully stretching for the first time in weeks.

It was almost like Fusing, like another person was right there enjoying the rush and the joy and the _freedom_ , even if their bodies were separate.

She could hear branches creak and grass crunch and wind whistle through stonework, faint moonlight reflecting off feline-eyes making the night seem bright as day, and a surge of amusement from Prince answered her wonder.

Hedwig/Harry's flight straightened, silent but for the faintest brush of air over feathers, and Prince's own footfalls softened as they followed, sensitive nose taking in a steady stream of scents.

 _The scarred man_ , Prince identified as they moved into underbrush along the shoreline.

 _Remus_ , Nasrin realized as they spotted him coming to a stop outside a large, rundown shack.

The Shrieking Shack had many stories surrounding it, students claiming that it was haunted, or held Merlin's grave, or that it was really a secret doorway that led to a magical world filled with talking Pyroar who would give magical weapons to children.

 _Okay, so that last one was Luna's theory, but it wasn't as if any of the others were much better_.

Remus- _and all Nasrin's older siblings_ -had warned them to never go near the place, not because of those rumors, but because of its guard.

 _That's a large Sudowoodo_ , Prince noted, slinking lower amid the bushes before settling below where Hedwig/Harry had perched.

 _Yeah, that's Whomper_ , Nasrin deduced, taking in the four-story-tall Rock-type. _Apparently, he has a habit of whacking intruders on the head and tossing them into the lake_.

Silence fell between them for a moment as Remus waited near the Shack, unmolested.

 _I suggest staying here_ , the chimera-Pokemon decided with all his usual gravitas.

 _You're not going to hear an argument from_ me.

A second figure approached, and their gaze swung over in surprise as Professor Snape stepped up with his usual scowl.

"Did you look over the files I gave you?" Remus wondered, quiet words easily reaching the Type: Null's sensitive ears.

"Don't be a dunce, Lupin. I wouldn't have bothered coming if I hadn't."

"Then you have come to the same conclusion I have?" The scarred professor continued, not at all offended.

"The records were shoddily written, and the detectives investigating were either stupid or in league with our mutual enemy." Professor Snape admitted, lips pursed unhappily.

"But you've come to the same conclusion?"

"Yes." The Potions Professor answered forcefully, his anger palpable. "Black is alive."

Nasrin jolted, heart hammering in surprise.

 _What?_

"That piece of filth…" Remus seethed, knuckles going bone white. "Should have killed him the moment I laid eyes on him."

"He cost us both much, but it does little good to wish we could change the past. Has he gotten to Potter?"

Prince was unnaturally still, barely breathing, as Nasrin's mind reeled.

 _Oh, god,_ Harry…

"No, not that I can tell." Remus answered. "We have to find him. We have to find him and slit his throat! He can't be allowed anywhere near Harry."

"Don't let your emotions for the boy cloud your judgement." Professor Snape chided. "It does us no good if you allow your love for the child to affect what we've worked so hard towards."

"That's funny, coming from you."

"I've done well to repress my true desires, and you should do the same. I warned you it was unwise-"

"Yes, yes." Remus cut in, taking a calming breath. "You're right. Nasrin would never let him anywhere near Harry. The two of us have been working hard since that Halloween to fix things, it won't do me any good to get emotional now."

Professor Snape nodded.

"We both keep an eye on the boy, and if Black looks to be getting too close to him, we do what we must to remove the threat."

The professors turned back towards the castle, and dark eyes locked with silver in the night, shocked.

 _How could things have gone so wrong?_


	21. Chapter 21

The image of a cackling Sirius on Harry's Pokedex had both Third Years glaring, sitting in impotent frustration while waiting for him to settle.

"Are you done yet?" Nasrin snipped, Togetic and Squeakers huffing from their perch on her loose braid.

"Yeah, yeah, I think so…"

The man took a deep breath.

"Nope, I was wrong!"

The thirteen-year-olds rolled their eyes as he continued to laugh, dialing back the volume lest anyone check and find she had snuck into the boy's dorm again.

"Sirius!" Harry hissed, Hedwig and Robin matching his tone.

"Okay, okay, I'm good. I can be serious." The Lord replied, a huge Garbodor-eating grin on his face. "Get it? 'Serious'?"

Snow and Ludwig gave the screen a deadpan look.

"We get it." Nasrin replied dryly, Star rolling her eyes.

"I don't think you do! You see-"

"We. Get. It." Harry ground out, Eevee, Scooby and Squishie growling in agreement.

"Party poopers, no cake for you." Sirius pouted. "I still can't believe you think Remus is out to kill me."

"We can't believe you aren't considering it might be true!" Nasrin argued, Dobby and Prince peering over her shoulders.

"You're the one that's hiding himself from him!" Harry added.

"Not because I don't trust him, pups! Far from it. Remus is a true friend. If it had been him instead of Peter that night, he'd have given his life for mine." Sirius explained, pausing thoughtfully. "Or not. Remus was always smarter than all of us, so I suppose he would've come up with a plan that actually worked. Maybe something involving robots…"

"Sirius." Harry prompted, refocusing his godfather.

"We heard him-"

"When you were bonded for the first time, congrats again by the way, knew you two could do it, ignore what I said about the cake, we'll get an ice cream one when we next see each other. You were bonded for the first time, and several tens of feet away from him and Snape."

"Yes, Snape! The professor that hates all things Gryffindor and has never said a kind word to us?" Harry argued.

"Maybe Remus isn't the traitor, but Snape could be the traitor." The half-Gem agreed.

"He could be feeding Remus bad information, trying to throw him off the scent and focus on you!"

"Again, trust me on this. You misheard them, or aren't getting the whole story." Sirius assured.

"Why are you so sure Snape isn't involved?" Nasrin wondered, Snow shaking out her ears.

"Listen, after all of this is settled, you two and I will sit down and talk, and I swear I'll explain exactly what's going on." The Lord promised. "For now, though, I need you to trust me. Snape isn't our enemy, and Remus certainly isn't. You both need to stop worrying, okay kiddos?"

Both Third Years scowled, their Pokemon huffing and grumbling.

"Fine." They chorused reluctantly.

"Come on, none of that!" Sirius teased. "It's Winter Solstice, and you two shouldn't be up in your room sulking. Sulking is for ugly people, and I'll have you know that none of your parents were ugly, nor did they make ugly babies. You should be downstairs-"

"Sulking?" Nasrin drawled.

"-Opening presents. I mean it."

"What had you done?" Harry accused, suspicious.

"Never you mind, just get going! I can't spend all my time bugging you, especially when I have my own holidays to enjoy."

A loud explosion came through the speakers, and Sirius whipped around.

"Damn it, Jack, you promised to wait for me before you blew up the ham!"

The screen went black, and both sighed, sharing a glance.

 _Might as well head down, then_.

Recalling their plethora of Pokemon, all except for Star, the Third Years went over to the teleporter and whirled down to the common room together.

There was Hagrid, in red flannel footie pajamas and with Snubbull on his lap, Steelbeak napping in a corner, Norbert trying to eat a coaster, and Tiny serving as a cushion for Luna and her own Pokemon.

The blonde was happily instructing Hermione in putting a tree skirt around an aluminum pole, and Remus settled back in an easy chair by the fireplace, coffee mug in hand.

"So, why are you decorating a pole?"

"Because it's tradition!" The half-Veela answered happily, adjusting the red-and-white-fur-trimmed hat on Luna Junior's head.

"And what tradition is that, Miss Lovegood?" Professor McGonagall asked as she entered with a cart full of breakfast foods.

"The tradition of Festivus!"

Luna gave Harry and Nasrin a grin.

"I can't wait for the Feats of Strength."

"And a Happy Solstice to you, Luna." He replied, ambling over to Remus while Nasrin hopped up to wrap the Second Year in a hug.

As the group settled around the fire to open presents, she could not help but smile at all the good cheer and excitement as the boxes were shared.

"Oh, how utterly delightful." Professor McGonagall voiced, running a hand over the black leather-bound journal in her hands, a set of antique pens still sitting in the paper. "Thank you, all three of you."

Hagrid sniffed back tears as he was given a big bucket-sized mug that read 'Number One Groundskeeper', claiming his own gifts paled in comparison, but Harry and Nasrin assured him that the Poke Flute and Cleanse Tag were much appreciated.

Hermione- _and most of the room_ -teared up when she got a book on Avalon history from them, and gotten a couple of books on Pokemagnus training in return, though Harry shot Remus a sour look for having claimed said books were out of print before.

Luna's presents had been a shock; a pair of photo albums, with pictures gathered from the Quibbler archives and professors, of James and Lily Potter and Samson and Cammi Universe that told the tales of how each couple grew up and fell in love.

Nasrin had a little trouble not crushing the blonde in her gratitude, and Harry thanked her over and over, while Luna only smiled and thanked them in return for her own gifts.

Unable to think of a single gift for the half-Veela, they had gotten her four sets of interchangeable earrings, a color-changing necklace, and Silph Co.'s newest Silph Scope Glasses, which she had not taken off since unwrapping.

Remus marveled over the collapsible bag they had gotten him, and the stylized M that was now the official logo for the Marauders, which he could now place on anything he wanted.

Harry had been moved by the collapsible bicycle he got in return, a twisted pile of metal the size of a cookie sheet that could unfold with the press of a button, while Nasrin ran her hands over the many packets of seeds and planting pots before her, misty-eyed.

"Well, I must say, that was quite enjoyable." Professor McGonagall stated, stroking her Purrloin, Southpaw.

"Have to agree with that, Min!" Hagrid agreed, wiping his mouth with an extra-large handkerchief Hermione had gotten him.

"But it's not over yet!" Luna claimed, sliding off Tiny to waddle through the torn remains of wrapping paper, new retro red fedora- _Hermione's gift_ -perched on her hair.

Plunging in, the half-Veela returned with a small box, a large envelope attached to it.

"I spotted this while I was looking for Waldo, the crafty bugger! It's for you two."

Curious, Nasrin accepted the box while Harry carefully opened the envelope.

"Who's it from?" Remus wondered.

"It says it's from the Lord of Sevii." Harry answered after a moment, sharing an agitated look with Nasrin.

"My word." Professor McGonagall voiced, shocked.

"Blimey!" Hagrid exclaimed.

"Shazam!"

After a moment, Luna looked up and pouted.

"What does it say?" Hermione pressed.

"Dear Mister Potter and Miss Universe. I realized that our first meeting was not fair to either of you, and I must have caused you quite a fright. For that, I apologize. I have thought long and hard about how I might make amends, and it is only within the last few days that I came to an answer. A great injustice was done to both of you, and while I can never undo all that was done, there is a small thing I can offer to help ease your pain. As you both may know, I was installed by the Father of Johto. I told him of your plights, and he agreed that it was wrong-"

Harry cut off, trembling, and Nasrin reached for his hand, continuing in his place.

"-It was wrong that you do not have a Potter or Universe family Pokemon to call your own."

After a heartbeat, she tossed the paper aside towards Professor McGonagall as Harry tore open the package, revealing two Poke Balls within.

One was red and gold, Gryffindor colors, while the other was done in a crystal-like pattern in pink, a stylized rose sitting right over the release button.

With steadying breaths, both Third Years grabbed the custom Balls and tossed them up, the beams of red energy shooting out to consolidate into-

"Bloody hell." Hagrid whispered, and Luna smiled, a tear slipping out from under her Silph Glasses.

"Oh…" Hermione breathed, staring at the pair of Pokemon in open amazement.

A Cyndaquil nuzzled into Harry's chest, chirping happily, as a pink-faced Comfey floated around Nasrin's head, little white hands gripping the end of her empty grey thread, silver eyes shining with joy.

"This is Firebolt." Professor McGonagall read. "And this is Lei. Use them well. Use them in the name of justice. Yours truly, the Lord of Sevii."

Harry hugged his new Pokemon tightly, and Nasrin held up a hand for the uniquely-colored Comfey to perch on, vision swimming with tears as their Pokemon popped out to greet the new arrivals.

"A Rose Quartz Comfey…" Hermione realized as Togetic and Squeakers floated around said Fairy, Star leaning out to touch noses gently. "No one has seen one since…"

Pulling the tiny Pokemon in, Nasrin choked on a sob, knowing that the last one seen had been her father's.

Snow paced around the pair with Ludwig, making sure that the young Firebolt and Lei were being held properly, while Eevee and Scooby sniffed around, curious.

Robin and Hedwig fluttered around them as well, hooting to each other, while Prince and Dobby leaned over their trainers' backs for a better look, Squishie grumbling from his perch in the latter's arms.

"This is amazing…" Professor McGonagall stated, hand pressed to her mouth. "Oh, Harry…Nasrin…"

Harry looked up at Remus, and the sudden loss of his smile had the half-Gem on high alert, eyeing the pensive look on said man's face.

"Remus?" Harry ventured, uncertain.

"Sorry, just thinking." Remus replied. "These are a bit much."

"It is!" Hermione exclaimed before Nasrin could think. "I mean, these are amazing gifts, and you must make sure you let the Lord of Sevii know that you're thankful for them."

Hermione shrugged at the confused looks she received, trying for nonchalance.

"I mean, the Lord of Sevii is a powerful man who does Avalon a great service by holding the Team Nocturne agents and grunts in his prison. If Harry and Nazz don't express their gratitude properly, the Lord might take offense, and…Well, I don't want any of those prisoners anywhere near Avalon."

"That's true." Remus admitted. "But-"

"And then there's the whole issue with the Father of Johto!" Hermione continued. "I mean, Jack Kenway isn't known for being the most calm or level-headed person! If you were to do something stupid, like return Firebolt and Lei, saying you couldn't accept them, Mister Kenway might see it as a slap in the face, and the next thing we know, Luna and I are leading an army against invading Johto forces."

"Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers!" Luna declared dramatically, standing and waving her cane like a sword. "For all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, men of the West!"

Luna Junior joined in posing heroically, bone club held aloft.

"Exactly! Thank you, Luna!" The bushy-haired Third Year acknowledged, locking eyes with Remus and smiling sweetly. "I think the only thing you can do is accept Firebolt and Lei, and make it known you're thankful, lest we start some international incidents."

"Yes…Yes, you're right." Remus admitted, any doubt or concern fading when he saw how tightly Harry and Nasrin were hugging their new Pokemon. "I'll have to pull up my notes on raising Cyndaquil so you can be prepared, and do some research on Comfey."

"Thank you, Remus." Both replied, too full of emotion to just mean the notes.

"Well, I suddenly feel drained." Professor McGonagall stated, standing. "I think I need a cup of tea."

"I'll have a cuppa myself." The Battle Professor agreed, following his old Head of House while Luna plopped down next to Hagrid.

Harry and Nasrin, however, were focused on Hermione, whose smile turned shy.

"Hermione…" The half-Gem started, voice low enough for only their ears.

"We don't know how you knew…"

"I don't know what you're-"

Harry held up a hand, cutting off any denials.

"When you're ready to tell us what your secret is, we'll be ready."

The pair smiled, pulling the bushy-haired into a hug with their Pokemon.

"Thank you."


	22. Chapter 22

As had become their tradition on Winter Solstice, Harry and Nasrin met at their windowsill in the common room, Pokemon sprawled across each other in a pile and snoring while their trainers quietly enjoyed those last rays of peace before preparing for classes once more.

This year saw four new additions, Prince curled around their backs and Hedwig cuddled up with Robin on a discarded pillow, Firebolt cradled in Harry's arm and Lei clinging to Nasrin's finger, half-asleep.

"She's as small as Puck." He realized, reaching out to run a careful finger over the Comfey's soft white fur so she cooed.

"Most Fairies are small." Nasrin mused, shrugging. "And they don't get very big, even if they evolve."

Harry glanced at her curiously, and the half-Gem smiled.

"Both Star and Snow will evolve into dual-Fairy-types, and Kirlia already is, so I've studied the type."

"Sirius said that Lei is the Universe Family Pokemon." The boy noted, brow furrowing. "Why didn't you get her sooner?"

The smile faded, and Prince raised his head to butt it against her shoulder, rumbling.

"My dad…His first Pokemon was a Rose Quartz Comfey." She admitted softly, fingers curling around Lei's tiny body. "My mom has only ever seen three in her whole life, and they were all part of the same chain. The Gems…"

Reaching out, Harry threaded their fingers together as Firebolt whined, crawling into the girl's lap with a snuffle.

"I know my dad's Pokemon would never have abandoned him."

There was no need to explain what she meant.

"So, why's she called a Rose Quartz Comfey?" Harry asked after a few moments, redirecting their thoughts, and Nasrin smiled in thanks.

"Because they have a special move that no other Pokemon can learn. It earned them the title Guardians of Life generations ago, when one helped Rose Quartz save Lion from an attack by Homeworld Gems during the Rebellion thousands of years ago."

Hedwig squawked in agreement with Harry's shock, both their eyes falling to the tiny Fairy cupped in the pinkette's palm.

"Really?"

Lei nodded, chirping proudly, and Prince huffed in amusement as Nasrin nodded.

"Yup. Pearl says that Rose Quartz had saved that Comfey after it was attacked by a Crobat, and it repaid the favor by unlocking it's full healing abilities to help Lion in a losing battle when he fainted from a horde of Rubies. She can only use it once a day, but Lei can Revive a fainted Pokemon back to full health."

Impressed, Harry nodded in understanding as he wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders, gently rubbing a fingertip against Lei's cheek as Firebolt stretched up to sniff the Fairy, curious.

"I guess great things _do_ come in small packages."


	23. Chapter 23

After that Winter Solstice, Harry and Nasrin paid more attention to Hermione's strange trance-like spells and following odd requests, finding that doing as she asked always ended in their favor.

Making a sudden detour to the Great Hall, and avoiding the prank Fred and George had set up in their original path; deciding to stay inside after classes ended that day, and not being caught in a sudden storm; suggesting a different training spot, and having the pleasure of seeing Draco get caught in his own trap.

Both agreed that, whatever was going on, Hermione had only acted in their best interest, and it helped to more solidly repair their friendship with the girl.

 _Luna, for one, was delighted_.


	24. Chapter 24

Standing in front of Hogwarts in her favorite white, wool wrap coat and fingerless cotton-lined leather gloves, Nasrin sighed as Snow leaned against her ankle, ears twitching in boredom.

Harry was shifting side to side, anxious to move rather than continue standing still, and she bumped shoulders with him as Professor McGonagall stood in front of the assembled students, a general addressing her troops.

"While this is a chance to get out of the castle, I want to remind you all that going to Le Fay's Landing is not a right. Some would call it a privilege, but they would be wrong. No, trips to Le Fay's Landing are nothing more than rewards. You're allowed to go because of good behavior, and that allowance can be ripped away in an instant. Le Fay's Landing may be within sight of Hogwarts, but we're not its sole reason for existing. Plenty of trainers travel through it to get to Ywain City. I want everyone to see that Hogwarts produces good students who are respectful and kind and well-behaved. That means obeying the same rules you obey in these halls. If I find out that someone has decided to besmirch Hogwarts' reputation, I will see it as you besmirching _my_ reputation."

Her cold stare passed over the students, assessing.

"Now then, let us go over those ground rules."

Nasrin tuned out the speech here, having heard it twice before, once in October and again just before Winter Solstice Break.

Apparently, this speech had not been altered in years, with the popular theory being that it had been passed down since the first year of Hogwarts.

Honestly, the half-Gem was more concerned with how slowly things were going in tracking down the traitor, even with help from Professor McGonagall.

With so many names being crossed off- _surprisingly, Lucius and Narcissa had never shown signs of being Pokemagnus_ -, there were still many to consider more closely.

"Now then, are there any questions?" Professor McGonagall wound down, straightening out her own burgundy winter waistcoat.

"Yes, does Lord Grantham know that you're teaching here?"

Everyone turned to stare at Luna, wearing her bright purple and orange winter coat that was the reverse of Hermione's, Ginny standing off to one side and holding her head in defeat.

"Also, can you tell Thomas that I hate him?"

"Miss Lovegood, Miss Weasley, what are you doing here?" The Head of Gryffindor asked, lips pressed thin.

"We certainly weren't trying to sneak off to Le Fay's Landing!" Luna assured with a bright smile.

"I should hope not, since that's for Third Years and older, and you two are neither."

"Right, we were…just listening!" Ginny explained quickly. "Just listening, and that's all! Wanted to be prepared for next year."

"Oh, yes. I was also wondering why you and Missus Crawley are always fighting." Luna agreed.

"Because Isobel sticks her nose into things." Professor McGonagall answered with a glower.

"What?"

With a silent smile, the Gryffindor professor gently pushed both Second Years along.

"Back to the dorms now, ladies."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall." Ginny assured, dragging a befuddled Luna away as people snickered over them being caught.

"Now then, if there are no more interruptions, we can get moving along."

The students spilled outside, already summoning their Pokemon or heading straight for the boats, chatting and joking.

"Too bad for Ginny and Luna." Neville noted.

"I warned them that it wouldn't work." Hermione pointed out.

"Did you tell McGonagall what they were going to do?" Ron asked, suspicious.

"No!" Hermione squeaked, offended. "I just told them that it wouldn't work because the professors keep close watch on who leaves the castle."

"Calm down, Ron." Harry cut in as Snow hopped up onto Nasrin's shoulder to bop the Weasley upside his head like Star would.

"Hermione might like the rules, but she's not a nark."

The bushy-haired girl beamed in response, and he pulled out a Ball.

"Now then, let's go!"

"Dobby!"

 _Dobby come, Great Harry Potter and Good Nazzie_ , the Alakazam projected to them happily. _Whats is Dobby doing for Great Harry Potter? Get books? Bring snack? Give sponge bath?_

The others watched, dumbfounded, as Nasrin collapsed into hysterical giggles while Harry answered swiftly.

"No, maybe later, and Merlin no! I want you to teleport Ron, Hermione, Neville, Nazz and myself to Le Fay's Landing."

 _Dobby transport. Dobby send right now. Then sponge bath?_

"You've been talking to Hedwig, haven't you?" Nasrin choked out, struggling to stand through her laughter.

 _She says yous dirty boy_.

Harry rubbed his forehead, as if trying to stave off a headache.

"Let's focus on the transporting right now."

In a brief flash of light, the group found themselves on the edge of Le Fay's Landing, and the pinkette reached out to catch Harry before he toppled over.

"So, what should we do first?" The Potter asked, recalling Dobby.

"I promised Luna I'd pick her up Scooby Snacks." Neville stated, scratching his head. "I'm not quite sure what they are."

"I asked her about it." Hermione replied as they ambled along. "She said she might need to convince a cowardly dog to visit a spooky mansion, and that they would be very important."

"So, in other words, it's just Luna being Luna." Ron summarized.

"We'll buy some cookies and tell her they changed labels." Nasrin suggested.

"I want to head over to the Daycare Center and pick up a few things for Firebolt." Harry voiced, jolting for a moment before calling out said Cyndaquil. "Almost forgot!"

Retrieving the bag of coal from his bag, Nasrin rubbed Firebolt's head as Harry offered a piece to the little Fire-type.

"How long do you have to feed him those?" Hermione wondered as they passed a clothing boutique where Lavender and Parvati were trying on dresses.

"According to Remus' notes, Firebolt will need to consume them steadily for another six months, until his own internal fire sacs are coated." Harry answered as Firebolt gobbled down another lump.

"I need to get juice for Lei, too." Nasrin mused, the custom Ball popping open so said Comfey could settle on her hair, empty thread curled tight into tiny white hands. "She needs certain nutrients to start producing the special oils that will preserve her flowers."

"Well, I don't need anything at the moment, so I'm just going to window shop." Hermione stated, blowing into her hands for warmth. "What about you, Ron?"

"Not sure yet, all I know is I got money to spend!" The Weasley responded with a grin. "Actually, I take that back!"

He pointed towards The Three Black Flutes, a popular restaurant.

"I think we need to stop and get a bite to eat."

"But you just had breakfast." Neville reminded him.

"Ah, but you're forgetting about second breakfast." Hermione said with a chuckle before her eyes widened. "That…was something Luna would say, wasn't it?"

"How much time do you spend together?" Nasrin wondered as Ron pulled them towards The Three Black Flutes, and Hermione just glanced away.

"I suppose we can get a few hot chocolates." Harry admitted, recalling Firebolt.

"Warm us up."

"Brilliant!" Ron cheered. "And some donuts, and some muffins-"

"Just hot chocolate, Ron." The Potter cut in.

"You don't want to waste all your Solstice money on food, do you?" Nasrin agreed as they stepped into the crowded building, Snow digging her claws into reinforced leather as she glanced around.

The Weasley said nothing, and both fixed him with a look.

"Ron?"

"I'm thinking!"

Rolling her eyes, the half-Gem stepped into line and looked around at The Three Black Flutes, which was made to resemble a Sinnoh mountain cottage, with a balcony overlooking the main floor.

Then Hermione gave a violent start, breathing suddenly sharp little pants, and the pink-haired teenager moved to support her as Ron and Neville returned to studying the menu.

"I wish you'd tell us what's happening to you." Harry whispered as the bushy-haired girl coughed.

"Soon."

"Can you at least tell us what request you're going to have this time?" Nasrin wondered as Snow leaned over to nuzzle the other girl's cheek.

"Let me pick the table." Hermione answered. "And let Ron and Neville do what they wish. You too, Nazz."

"Alright." They agreed together, reaching the front of the line.

"Hogwarts students!" The jovial owner greeted. "Well, never expected to see four Hogwarts students here today!"

"You didn't?" Ron asked. "But-"

"It was a joke, lad."

"…Oh."

The portly man clapped his hands to diffuse the situation.

"Now, what can I get ye little masters and little mistresses?"

"Five hot chocolates." Harry answered, looking over to see if anyone else had requests.

"That's all I want." Neville agreed.

"Me, too." Nasrin added.

"I'm good." Hermione voiced, anxious.

"I'll take three of your triple fudge brownies!" Ron ordered happily. "One for me, and I'll need two for my Pokemon."

Neville frowned as their order was rung up.

"Only three? Don't you need four?"

"Why would I…? Oh, you mean Scabbers!" The redhead realized, handing over his money when prompted and taking his change to the receiving area. "I didn't bring him with me."

"I haven't seen Scabbers all year, come to think of it." Hermione noted, and Ron shrugged.

"Probably won't see him again. I tried to talk to dad and get him to take Scabbers back, but he asked me to give it another year. I think he's embarrassed that the two of us can't make a go of it. 'Every Weasley has a Raticate', he told me. All the other Weasleys never had to deal with Scabbers. Charlie and Bill and Fred and George, they all got Rattata that listened to them. Even Ginny's is nice and polite and cute. Scabbers is just a jerk."

"So you just leave him in his Ball in your room?" Neville asked, surprised.

"He doesn't mind." Ron assured. "Seems to just enjoy lying around, anyway. Why fight it?"

Nasrin passed a hot chocolate over to Harry as Ron got his bag of brownies, unable to argue with that assessment, and even Snow shrugged as she groomed a giggling Lei.

Scabbers had never exactly endeared himself to anyone, human _or_ Pokemon.

"Alright, I need to head over to the Daycare." She reminded them, beaming. "What about you guys?"

"I want to just sit down." Hermione stated, cupping her own beverage.

"Me, too." Harry agreed, glancing at the half-Gem for a moment and nodding.

"Alright, if that's what you want." Ron accepted. "Come on, Neville, let's go check out the skate shop. Maybe that's what I'll use my Solstice money on!"

Hopping up to press a kiss against Harry's cheek, Nasrin headed out after the other boys, splitting off from them with a wave once outside.

Lei shivered, mewling at the cold, and she recalled the young Comfey immediately as Snow hopped down to trot alongside her trainer.

The weather was crisp and a touch colder than most humans would find comfortable, with the scent of melted chocolate and pastries wafting on a breeze, and Nasrin sipped at her steaming beverage with a content sigh.

Tails fanning, the icy Vulpix glanced up with a curious sound, ears twitching back.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." She answered, lips tilting into a half-smile. "Hermione hasn't steered us wrong yet."

Head bobbing in agreement, Snow still glanced over one shoulder worriedly, missing the weight of Ludwig on her back.

"Honestly, there's no need to worry." Nasrin assured, taking another sip. "What kind of trouble could they _possibly_ get into in ten minutes?"

Electricity crackled in the air, and she whipped around as Squeakers burst from his Poke Ball, bristling along with Snow.

On the rooftop of a shop further back- _right next to The Three Black Flutes_ -was a caped figure, a Manectric sparking at his side, and her heart dropped in dread.

 _The traitor_.

Snow snarled, ice building into jagged spikes along white fur, and Nasrin's eyes widened.

"RUN!"

The building exploded into a horde of Dusknoir, and five more flashes of light heralded her Pokemon's arrival into the chaos.

"Thunder Voice!"

Squeakers let out a wave of electricity that burst in all directions at Star's voice, and the first surge of Dusknoir were thrown back, twitching with the effects of paralysis as people screamed.

"Get inside! Astonish!" Nasrin ordered as Robin took to the air with a screech. "Barricade the doors! Now! Extrasensory!"

Summoning her shield, the half-Gem smashed it into a Dusknoir's face as it reached for a trembling child, sending the Ghost flying into a building.

"Pursuit! Rock Throw! Brutal Swing!"

Dusknoir shrieked as they were driven back, and people scrambled into the cleared doorways, most too shaken by the effects of Emotion Manipulation to stand.

Fear tried to slither its way into her veins, but Nasrin only grew coldly angry.

"Brutal Wind!"

Robin shrieked as she swooped down, grabbing Squishie and flinging him at top-speed into the nearest bundle of Dusknoir, who fell back with pained cries as the Dark blow melded with a Ghostly wind.

"Icy Throw!"

Scooby howled as he uprooted boulders and tossed them up, Snow's arctic gust whipping them into a horde of Dusknoir hard enough to smash them into the road.

Unsheathing Rose Quartz's sword, Nasrin slashed one open when it tried to snatch a scrambling Slytherin Fourth Year, growling louder than Kanga when she had spotted a Grimer near her crib as a toddler.

Snow yelped as a large gray hand grabbed some of her tails, and Squeakers practically roared as he slammed into the Dusknoir with a Volt Tackle, the discharge throwing back a ring of nearby Ghosts.

Scooby snarled, digging his Dark-enhanced fangs into a grasping hand that tried to pin Squishie, and the Stufful knocked their attacker away with a Brutal Swing.

"Hyper Ace!" Nasrin ordered, slicing a Dusknoir across the belly before it grabbed onto a hysterical Hufflepuff Fifth Year, shoving the older boy into the nearest shop once he was free.

Prince roared, throwing out a slew of Aerial Aces that erupted into thousands of slicing needles at Star's voice, and Nasrin took a chance to check that all civilians were safely barricaded into the shops with their Pokemon, and thus better able to defend themselves.

" _We need to get to Harry and the others_." She said as the Speaker's Realm fell around them, blocking out the Dusknoir.

" _There's too many_." Star responded. " _I might be able to clear a path with Surf, but it could damage the buildings_."

" _That rules out Thunder, too_." Snow pointed out.

" _Maybe if we paralyze them with another Thunder Voice, we can get through!_ " Squeakers suggested, cheek-sacs sparking.

" _Think you can hit every Dusknoir in Le Fay's Landing with that, huh?_ " Squishie retorted, frustration bleeding off his fuzzy fur.

" _Not without hitting civilians_." Prince agreed, somber. " _But we have few options_."

Scooby lifted his head, gold eyes locking with black, and nodded.

" _We can clear a path_."

Blinking sharply, Nasrin turned to look at her blue-furred Rockruff and Rowlet, surprised.

" _Trust us_." Robin assured, and Scooby exposed his fangs in a dangerous smile.

" _It's been a long time coming_."

Reality faded back into view slowly, and light filled her eyes as Scooby howled in time with Robin's triumphant cry.

 _They were evolving_.

Energy exploded off their changed bodies, mingling with the light from her Gem, and Scooby let out another howl as Robin spun through the air on white-feathered wings.

Heart filling with emotion, Nasrin locked eyes with the wolfish Lycanroc and circling Dartrix…

And smiled.

"Accele-Claw!"

With a great screech, Robin swooped down to grab onto Scooby's mane as he lunged, her Ghostly talons slicing through the Dusknoir as he tore a path straight through their horde.

There was no need for words as she took off after them, Squeakers weaving through her legs with sparking cheek-sacs while Snow and Squishie lashed out with Extrasensories and Brutal Swings on either side, Prince covering their rear with Star spreading the Dark energy of his Pursuit with Hyper Voice.

Trusting that Scooby knew where he was going, the half-Gem sliced and slashed at any Dusknoir that tried to halt their progress, utterly focused on reaching the others.

Nasrin needed to see that Harry was okay, that he was alive and whole and _not dead_ , because if that-that _bastard_ had hurt him again-

"My price?"

The machine-scrambled voice caught in her ears, and Scooby growled as he altered course, fangs glinting with Dark energy.

"My price is your traitorous head on a spike! It can sit there with all those that stand with you!"

For a split second, the half-Gem wondered at how she could hear the traitor so easily over the mayhem of terrified screams and battle, over the heavy beating of her own heart as it filled with _angerresolve_ _ **panic**_ -

The shopping plaza was a ravaged battlefield flooded with Dusknoir, which wailed and shrunk back from a torrent of Energy Balls and Night Slashes from Flora, Stumper, Servine, and a Barbaracle that seemed to be Minister Fudge's.

A Zoroark slashed at the Ghosts with sharp fangs and claws, Remus' calculating mind mixed with Moony's type advantage, as Ron, Hermione and Daphne Greengrass using their Pokemon to fortify an overturned food cart with icy walls.

Cedric Diggory was commanding his Electabuzz to pull people from the Dusknoir's maws, while Crabbe and Goyle- _either too brave or too stupid to be frightened_ -ordered their Sawk and Throh to pull them out of danger.

Pansy and Tracey Davis- _another Slytherin Third Year_ -were huddled together with their Grovyle and Mawile, obviously traumatized, as Lucius commanded his Serperior and Malamar in defense, working alongside Eevee and Hedwig to keep the Ghosts at bay.

And there was Harry, alive and fighting and _alive_ , and Scooby let out a glass-rattling howl.

"Aqua-Sensory! Volt Claw! X-Swing!"

The traitor stumbled back as Star streaked through the air, Snow's Extrasensory refracting like light off her Aqua Jet, and Robin screeched as she used Squeakers' speed to stab her Ghostly talons into a Dusknoir that tried to grab a distracted Neville, Squishie swinging from Prince's helmet as the chimera-Pokemon slashed through the horde with a roar.

Harry yelped as Rose Quartz's sword flew past him, turning in surprise to find the blade impaling a Dusknoir, and Nasrin leaped onto the Ghost's shoulders, ripping her weapon free with a burst of ectoplasmic innards.

"Rose Quartz." The Nocturne Grunt hissed as his army fell back, wailing and moaning in pain. "Again, you stand in the way of Lord Voldemort's will."

"It's a pleasure to piss him off at every opportunity." The half-Gem replied, sickly-sweet, as Scooby tore at a Dusknoir that tried to grab Eevee. "I'm sure it'll be the same with you."

"We were told to leave you for Lord Voldemort, to destroy as he sees fit." He growled, Dusknoir regrouping at his command. "But I have no qualms with shattering you today, Rose Quartz. You have interfered for the last time."

Nasrin gave the traitor that Sharpedo smile as Prince skidded to a stop beside her, glaring fiercely.

"Do it, then. _If you can_."

As the Dusknoir advanced again, she gave Harry a glance over one shoulder, sheathing her sword.

"I can buy you some time."

With a nod, the Potter fell back with their Pokemon while Nasrin widened her stance, holding out a fist and gripping the wrist tight, Gem beginning to glow.

"Z-Move, Dark-Style…"

The air wavered around half-human and Pokemon as Prince also began to glow, and the traitor made a hasty order to his Dusknoir as their combined light grew blinding-

"Black Hole Eclipse!"

With a great roar, Prince pulled all of the Dark energy surrounding them into a ball of condensed malice atop his wing-blade that he tossed into the air overhead.

The ball exploded into a black hole, and Dusknoir wailed as they were sucked inside, their spectral shrieks growing into a cacophony of agony until the black hole shrunk into a microcosm and exploded, the horde of Ghosts falling to the cobblestones like rain, out cold.

Taking a deep breath, Nasrin relaxed her shaking limbs as Prince grunted, shaking his head as if clearing away cobwebs.

Then Dusknoir rose over the nearby rooftops, slowly replacing their fallen brothers, and the traitor laughed.

"Did you think the will of Voldemort so weak, Rose Quartz, that you could so easily defeat my army? Even with your Lost Arts, you are but a child! Now feel the wrath of my lord!"

Nasrin cursed, summoning her shield as Scooby and Snow raced past her.

"Ice Throw!"

The Lycanroc howled as boulders went flying, his smaller friend's icicles sliding in the gaps to make sure no Dusknoir escaped, and Harry turned to the others, putting his plan into motion.

"I think I have a way out of this, but you all need to trust me. Can your Barbaracle perform Rock Tomb?"

"Well, yes." Minister Fudge replied, confused, while Snow called up an Icy Wind. "Yes, yes he can! But I don't see how that-"

"Have him do it around us. Neville, Mister Malfoy, Draco, I need each of you to command your Grass-types to perform any leaf-producing attacks they have. Razor Leaf, Leaf Storm, whatever you have. They need to keep it up without stop. Hit as many as they can, but as long as the leaves are flying, I'm happy. Robin!"

The newly-evolved Dartrix cawed as she began to use Razor Leaf, Flora and Stumper joining her almost immediately, and Squishie roared as he charged at the approaching Dusknoir with a flurry of Brutal Swings.

"Who put you in charge, Potter!" Draco seethed, ignoring Star as she sent approaching Dusknoir tumbling with a Water Pledge. "My father should be giving commands!"

"Indeed." Lucius agreed. "I command you to listen to Mister Potter. Unlike you, he and Miss Universe have managed to lead an assault against these ghouls rather than cower, and now move to strike while you whimper. They have proven themselves thus far, and unless you have suddenly developed a feasible plan, we will listen to him. Serperior, Leaf Storm."

After a moment, the Prince of Slytherin relented as Squeakers let loose a slew of Electro Balls.

"Servine, Razor Leaf."

The Dusknoir raised their hands in an attempt to block this newly-green assault, but kept moving inexorably closer, even with the combined effort of Nasrin's Pokemon.

Recalling Eevee and Hedwig, Harry let out Dobby.

"Mister Prime Minister, be ready on my word. Hermione, Mister Malfoy, call out Kirlia and Malamar, and command them to follow Dobby's orders."

Nasrin turned in the maelstrom of green as Harry stepped up to her side, offering a hand.

"Till the end of the line."

Stars shone in her eyes, and the pinkette accepted.

"Till the end of the line."

Even Lucius' jaw dropped a little when her Gem's glow encompassed the pair of Third Year Gryffindors, shifting and changing-

Despite having seen their Fusion in the Chamber, Neville found himself as awed as everyone else as they took a new breath, like stretching a long-unused muscle.

There was Nasrin's round face and Harry's sterner mouth, the shape of her eyes and the emerald green color of his, long pink curls messy and almost-black down their shoulders, nearly eight feet tall, with Harry's newly-earned muscles and Nasrin's deceptive softness, fierce as any amazon and solid as any knight, all wrapped up in the boy's too-small winter jacket and the half-Gem's well-worn jeans, ignoring the leaves swirling around them as they looked at the traitor.

"We know who you are!" The Fusion shouted, voice caught between high and low into a melodic tenor.

"I seriously doubt that." The grunt snarked back.

"We know enough." They retorted, green eyes flickering as Star called their Pokemon into the shelter. "We know what happened that night. We know about what you did, and we know who _survived_. We've talked to him ourselves!"

Despite his mask, the Nocturne grunt visibly flinched at this, caught off-guard.

"You lie. I had him sealed away, and when the Kenway's attacked-"

"They saw he was a great man and brought him into their trust." They cut in firmly. "The Sons respect bravery, and he has it in spades! He's a Gryffindor, through and through, and he showed more bravery than you or your pathetic twat of a leader Voldemort ever did!"

"You shut your mouth!" The traitor raged. "You know nothing!"

"We know that you kissed the boots of a coward who fought babies and women. We shouldn't be surprised that you hide behind your Dusknoir and attack children, rather than acting like a man!"

"You think I'm a coward? We'll see what you say when I break your pathetic Fusion and I wrap my hands around your throats." He seethed, turning to command the Dusknoir. "Kill all but the Fusion. They're mine!"

"Oh, we're so scared." They snarked, unimpressed.

"Uh, mate, could we try not antagonizing the masked man leading the soul-eating Ghosts?" Ron suggested shakily.

"You want courage?" They challenged, releasing Ludwig, Firebolt and Lei as Scooby stepped up to their side, growling. "Do you recognize them? They're the children of our parents' Pokemon, the same ones that fell your master."

With a nod to Minister Fudge, his Barbaracle performed Rock Tomb around the group, cutting them off from the coming chaos.

With a soft prayer that they would be alright as screams echoed from within, the Fusion fixed their gaze on their target.

"You say we don't know anything? Well, we do know one thing."

"And what's that?" The man demanded, frustrated, and they smirked.

"We know where we're standing."

It was then the traitor realized that the entire plaza was filled with dry leaves, clinging to his cloak and stuck in the wraps of his Dusknoir, as Psychic shields slammed down around them, forming a shimmering open-top box.

"Ludwig, Firebolt…Flamethrower."

The initial fiery blasts caught a few Dusknoir directly, and Scooby lit his own fangs to take a pound of flesh as well, leaping free as the Ghosts ensured their own demise.

They summoned a bubble as flames burst to life amid the dry fuel, jumping from pile to pile as Dusknoir wailed, trying to escape and only succeeding in spreading the fire more, dark smoke filling the air.

Eventually, what Ghosts remained conscious fled upwards, burning leaves flying from them like the tail of shooting stars, and the traitor screamed in outrage.

For a moment, they thought he would try to physically attack, despite the fire and the bubble and their physical advantage, but self-preservation won.

With a final gesture of frustration, the grunt touched his mask, and they realized with a jolt that it was, in fact, the tail-end of a Yamask, which teleported the man away.

Once the last Dusknoir fled, the sky burst open in a curtain of rain, and Scooby howled as Rock Tomb was released, the Psychic barriers falling with their bubble.

Curls heavy with water, shoulders straight and Gem glowing softly, standing with the Pokemon of their parents' legacies…

In that moment, even Lucius saw what they would become.

 _Here was someone that could stand against the darkness_.

 _ **Here, was a Knight of Avalon**_.

Moments later, Aurors flooded the shopping plaza, and they turned as one zeroed in on the two Fire-types.

John Dawlish was a frumpy, miserable sight compared to the Jennys, with his crease-lined face, wrinkled suit, stained tie, and hooded eyes, and he approached with a single-minded aggression that had Scooby baring his fangs.

"You. We have some questions for you, pyro."

The Fusion lit up like a miniature sun as they split, and the Auror froze, eyes wide, as a very-much-upset Nasrin glared up at him.

"I have some questions for you, too." The tiny pinkette snarled, actually scaring the man into a hasty retreat. "Like where you and your Aurors were when Le Fay's Landing was swarmed with fucking Dusknoir for nearly thirty minutes!"

"I agree." Lucius voiced, glaring coldly. "We were under attack for a half an hour, and only when the danger is gone do we see hide or tail of the 'great' Auror Corps. Considering that the Prime Minister himself was one of the targets, as well as the Head of the Gym Leader Council and the Heir of Rose Quartz, I'm left to wonder if it were merely incompetence or something a touch more sinister that led you to fail at your duties."

The arrival of another Auror cut off Dawlish's response, and Kingsley Shacklebot glared at Lucius.

"Funny, I've thought the same thing whenever I thought about how you should be locked up in Sevii."

"Enough, please!" Minister Fudge pleaded, mopping his brow with a handkerchief. "Today has been stressful enough without us all at each other's throats. We cannot be divided, not after today."

"I agree." Amelia Bones replied, strolling over. "I would very much like to know what the hell is going on, Dawlish."

Dawlish held his head high now, proud.

"I arrived on the scene to find these two standing in the middle of the remnants of the fire that engulfed the town. When I attempted to question them-"

"Which you shouldn't do without their guardians present." Madame Bones cut in.

"Yes, of course. As I was saying, I attempted to question these two youngsters only for my investigation to be impeded upon-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Nasrin nearly shouted, startling the adults, and only Harry's grip on her hand kept the girl from throttling Dawlish. "Do you _not_ see the hundreds of Dusknoir lying around unconscious? Or did you miss them, being blinded by your _overinflated ego_?"

Dawlish backpedaled when she stomped forward, Snow and Squishie joining Scooby in growling as Prince stepped up on her other side, glaring quietly with Star, Squeakers and Robin.

"We just spent the last half-hour fighting off a horde of them as they attacked people in a highly-populated town, and what you're looking at is the result of our last-ditch effort to stop them. If you and your Aurors had shown up at any point, maybe this wouldn't have been necessary."

Madame Bones almost flinched at the fierce glare leveled on all three of them at that, and Harry was impressed.

"So maybe, instead of accusing us of terrorism without any actual evidence, you'd like to do this little thing called _investigating_ instead."

…

"Dawlish, go work crowd control." Madame Bones ordered, a jerk of her head having the senior Auror shuffling away with a pout. "Now then, I would like to start from the beginning…"


	25. Chapter 25

Harry and Nasrin were exhausted by the time they returned to Hogwarts that night.

While Doctor Onassis, another Elite Four member and Head of the Medics Division, had managed to get a slew of personnel down to Le Fay's Landing within ten minutes, and Madame Bones interviewed everyone thoroughly, Nasrin still spent hours healing injured people and Pokemon.

Dawlish had attempted to stop her at first, but Prince and Scooby were having none of that, and Harry could not help a flicker of amusement when the senior Auror tripped over himself to escape them.

Of course, Harry was right by her side the entire time, comforting those obviously traumatized by the attack, their Pokemon a protective presence on every side.

They returned for dinner with thirteen names to silently mourn, lives lost in the struggle, and ate in fatigued silence, absolutely drained in every sense of the word.

The common room was just as somber, and Nasrin curled up with Harry in an armchair, ear pressed to his heart as fingers tangled in her hair.

Squeakers and Togetic were huddled up against Prince's softer underbelly, hugging each other and chirping softly, and Scooby was curled tight around Eevee, licking his now-smaller friend's ears in comfort.

Hedwig was nestled under Robin's wing, taking advantage of her newly-evolved companion's warmth, while Snow groomed Ludwig's face, soothing the Litwick's agitation while fanning her tails to distract Lei and Firebolt, who cooed and yipped at the refracted light that followed.

Dobby hugged Squishie like an actual teddy bear, leaning into the armrest so Harry could rub between the Alakazam's ears, and Star was draped over the back, watching everything with pink-starred eyes.

Even without Fusing, one would be blind to not see how they and their Pokemon supported each other.

"We should probably head to bed." Harry admitted softly, twisting a curl around one finger as Nasrin tensed. "What do you want to do?"

Star purred, sliding onto the boy's shoulder to nuzzle her face, and the half-Gem sighed.

"Can I stay with you?"

"Of course." He assured, pressing a kiss to mussed ringlets.

Hermione and Neville exchanged quiet good nights as the pair rose, recalling their Pokemon, and Ron waved from his sprawled place in front of the fireplace as they headed for the teleporter with linked hands.

A couple quick spins, and-

Chaos.

The Third Year boy's dorm was in shambles, with all the beds flipped, trunks ransacked, suitcases and bags emptied over the floor, and each of the closet-cubbies for personal items tossed clean.

Eyes wide, Nasrin reactivated the teleporter, and Harry stumbled out into the common room ahead of her, a touch shell-shocked by what had happened.

"Someone broke into the dorm." He choked out, oblivious to the commotion this declaration caused as black locked with green.

"He was here."


	26. Chapter 26

Aurors swarmed the Third Year boy's dorm almost immediately after the alarm was raised, forcing Harry, Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus into the common room as their room was sealed off.

Nasrin had politely asked a Jenny when the boys could return to their room, and been assured that the investigation would be wrapped up quickly.

 _By day three, she was starting to think that Jenny had been a little off the mark_.

Add onto that the sudden suspicions leveled on Sirius, and the discovery by his internal accountants that Warden Yorrick compounded his crimes by illegally breeding Sevii Dusknoir and selling the Duskull for millions, and no one blamed her for being a touch snippy about the whole thing.

Tonks had even added in a private email a particular sale to a buyer in Avalon for a female and male Duskull in 1968.

The check was signed Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Carding through Harry's wild hair, Nasrin leaned back into Prince's sturdy bulk as the boy shifted in her lap, unable to properly settle after an entire week of unanswered questions and sleeping on the floor.

Scooby lounged on their right, Eevee curled between his forelegs, their eyes going green with night-shine, and Ludwig's flame flickered with each sleepy yawn as he sprawled across Snow's back on their left, patting Lei's head when the Comfey let out a whimper in her sleep, pressing tighter into the Vulpix's fur with Firebolt.

Robin and Hedwig were perched on a vane of Prince's helmet, heads turning to scan the common room thoroughly, and Dobby twitched at every sound, Squishie growling in comfort from the Alakazam's lap.

Togetic hugged Squeakers tight, murmuring softly, and the Pikachu chirruped back, taking comfort in Star's soft hums as she pet downy feathers and static-fluffed fur.

They were all on-edge, and Nasrin hardly blamed them.

Harry shifted as the teleporter activated, and Ginny blinked as she was met with fifteen pairs of eyes staring back at her from the dark.

"Well, there's no sneaking up on you two." She whispered as Luna and Hermione appeared, also wearing red robes over their pajamas.

"What are you three doing up?" Nasrin wondered as Harry sat up, blinking tiredly while Firebolt and Lei clambered onto his lap.

"I asked the same thing when I got fifty text messages asking me if I was awake." Hermione commiserated with a groan.

"We're awake because we know that you two are upset about something and refuse to talk about it." Ginny answered. "So we're going to go to…What was it you suggested, Luna?"

"We go to the kitchens, eat some cheesecake, and discuss our issues." The half-Veela finished. "Hermione's Dorothy, I'm Rose, Ginny's Sophia, and you two get to be Blanche because you're the sluttiest!"

The pair shared a look, rolling their eyes.

"Okay, fine." He conceded.

"Whatever you say, Rose."

"How do we get down to the kitchen?" Hermione asked. "I'm in no mood to get caught by Filch."

"I have it all figured out." Ginny claimed with a grin, whipping out her Pokedex. "You see, I've been spending this whole semester gathering data about our dear Argus Filch. His habits, his traits, his little quirks. I'm using all that to create an algorithm that should allow me to plot the most likely course he'll take-"

"Or we could use the Marauder's App." Nasrin pointed out.

"And Ludwig." Harry added.

Ginny stared at her Pokedex with the horrible realization that she had essentially wasted the last four months of free time.

"I…I'm going to need extra cheesecake."

Luna wrapped an arm around her fellow Second Year, murmuring encouragement, while the Third Years fought back chuckles.

 _Honestly_ …

* * *

"Thank you." Harry said as a Wigglytuff handed him a piece of cheesecake, and the Fairy smiled before toddling back to cut another slice.

"I vote we do this more often." Nasrin decided, offering Prince a bite and giggling when the chimera-Pokemon perked up, nudging her for more.

"And not tell Ron, since he'd hog all the cheesecake." Ginny agreed, waving her fork.

"Yes, but it isn't all fun and cheesecake." Luna reminded them. "It's time to begin the second half, the dishing of secrets. I shall start."

With a little cough, the half-Veela reached up and pulled off her blonde hair, revealing it to be a wig that looked exactly like her actual hair underneath.

"My real name is Luna Lovegood."

"We know, Luna." Hermione replied, blinking sharply.

"Yes, because I just told you!" Luna replied, throwing her head back dramatically while clutching at her heart. "Please, friends, I know this is all confusing, but I kept this secret for a reason!"

"Well, whoever you are, be it Luna or Luna, we all love you." Nasrin assured, and Luna sniffled, rushing around to give the half-Gem a hug.

"Now that we've finally established that Luna is…Luna, we can move onto the next pressing issue." Ginny continued, eyes narrowing on Hermione. "What in Merlin's name is up with you this year? Are you psychic? Attempting to be a Pokemagnus? A robot whose programming keeps glitching?"

"Alright, I suppose you all deserve the truth." Hermione admitted, glancing down with a tiny nod. "I'm H3RM10N3, an advanced android from the future."

The other three gave her sour looks as Luna sniggered.

"You two have been hanging out way too much." Harry muttered as both Hermione and Luna broke down into giggles.

Prince huffed in thanks when a Clefairy got him some cheesecake, and Nasrin pat his helmet as the girls calmed, Hermione's expression turning serious.

"Okay, the real truth. You know that I went with Luna and her father to Kalos last summer."

"Right, that's where Luna got Luna Junior." Ginny agreed.

"Right. Don't even ask me how we found it, but Mister Lovegood managed to lead us to the Pokemon Village. It's a sanctuary for Pokemon, where they can gather without fear of threats from more violent Pokemon. Only trainers with pure hearts are able to enter, or so the story goes. I'm honestly not sure what to believe…"

Hermione's expression was distant, like the faraway stare more common on Luna's face.

"I can't even begin to describe exactly what I saw and felt there. There are so many legends about that place, and before I visited, I might have waved them off as just that, myth. But some of the things I saw…"

The bushy-haired Gryffindor leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper.

"We went there only to observe. None of us even considered catching any Pokemon there. Mister Lovegood wanted to investigate a cave where the Legendary Pokemon Mewtwo had been spotted."

"All sorts of Legendaries are said to visit the Village." Luna added, bouncing up and down in her seat. "People have spotted Ho-Oh flying overhead, and claim that Xerneas will occasionally walk amongst the trees…"

"I don't know about any of them." Hermione admitted. "But I do know one Legendary Pokemon did dwell there, and she took a liking to me."

The Third Year grew bashful at the memory of this encounter.

"I was so startled when she first appeared. You would think that she'd have been the quiet and cautious one, but she was so playful and brave. I was so in awe, I didn't even realize she'd managed to get into my bag and pull out a Poke Ball…"

Ginny leaned forward, eyes wide, as Prince actually turned away from his new treat.

"What was it?"

Pulling out a standard Poke Ball, Hermione gave it a toss, and-

"A Celebi…" Harry breathed, the entire kitchen going silent to stare at the little green pixie floating before them.

Nasrin held out a hand, and almost jolted when Celebi immediately flew over to touch her fingers, releasing a giggle and rushing over to Ginny, fussing with her hair, before zipping to Harry and fiddling with his glasses.

"Amazing."

Luna laughed as the tiny Legendary danced in the air around her, finally settling into Hermione's arms.

"She's the reason I've been acting so strangely." Hermione stated, running her fingers along Celebi's back and earning a coo of delight. "Well, her Ability, actually."

"Her Ability?" Ginny echoed.

"Celebi has an amazing Ability." Hermione started, mulling over her words carefully. "What do you know about the Celebi legend?"

"Not much." Harry admitted, and Nasrin nodded in agreement.

"Can I tell? Can I?" Luna begged, hand raised, and Hermione nodded.

The blonde leaned forward, motioning for the Hogwarts Pokemon to lower the main fluorescents and light candles, setting the mood.

"Celebi are said to be time travelers who appear in times of great peace to bless humans who show kind, pure hearts. They appear bathed in moonlight and draped with morning dew, fluttering about glens and enchanted clearings, welcoming the lucky few that spot them. For the Celebi, time is not linear, and they're able to move about it however they wish, appearing and disappearing throughout all of history, following a logic only they themselves understand."

The candles went out as the overhead lights came back to full brightness.

"In other words, they're like me!"

They stared at Luna for a moment before turning to Hermione.

"So, what amazing Ability does Celebi have?" Ginny drawled.

"I was getting to that!" Luna huffed, shaking her head. "You asked for the legend, and I gave it to you! Now I can give you the facts. Hermione's Celebi's Ability helps explain where the legend came from, why they only appear to people with good hearts, how they seem to pop up throughout history but never stay for long, and why they only appear in times of peace. Hermione's Celebi has the Time Turner Ability."

"The time what?" Harry replied, confused.

"Time Turner." Hermione repeated. "I named it myself. No other Pokemon has ever had it before, at least, no documented one."

Celebi let out a coo, rubbing her head against the girl's cheek.

"Time Turner is amazing." Luna agreed. "It allows Celebi and anyone touching her to travel back up to one hour in time. It's all mental, of course, that way you avoid paradox bodies and such, and the limit on distance means you can't accidentally kill your own grandfather…But still, quite handy."

"So, when you zone out…" Nasrin realized.

"That's me arriving back in my body." Hermione finished. "I live out an hour and, if something bad happened or I want to change something, Celebi and I mentally travel back up to an hour and redo it."

"So that's why you've known which routes to take in school, or where lost items are?" Ginny asked.

"Correct. We do it, and then I go back to the beginning."

"That…is so cool!" The youngest Weasley gushed, bouncing in her seat. "Oh, we could have so much fun with this!"

"No, we could _not_." The Third Year cut in firmly, hugging Celebi. "She's not a toy. In the beginning, I used the Time Turner Ability to check out which classes I wanted to take, or avoid arguments with Ron-"

"Which is a very practical use for that power." His sister claimed.

"-But nowadays, I only use it when a situation is dire. Celebi chose me as her trainer, and I refuse to abuse her wonderful gift."

"It's alright, Hermione." Nasrin assured.

"I mean, Ludwig's Invisibility Ability is amazing, and yeah, there are times where we'll use it to do things like this, but I don't spend every day just abusing it." Harry agreed.

"Just like Prince. He chose me to protect him, and to share his strength. It wouldn't be right to take advantage like that." The half-Gem added, reaching down to curl her fingers just under his helmet and earning a happy rumble.

"Fine!" Ginny huffed, slouching in her chair. "We'll not have fun at all and respect our Pokemon!"

Celebi giggled, like little brass bells, and flew over to kiss the Weasley's forehead.

"…You're lucky you're so cute."

"Yes, I am lucky, not sure why you brought that up." Luna stated, stroking her chin with another faraway look. "Do you think there's a mirror universe where we're all evil, and my name is Celestia, and I have a goatee-o-evil that I stroke when doing evil things?"

" _And_ we lost her." Ginny noted. "Alright, so how much of history have you changed?"

"Not too much." Hermione assured. "And it isn't changing history, more like altering destiny."

"Blah, blah, blah, spill!" The female Weasley pressed teasingly.

"Okay, so we told you about Hagrid showing off Steelbeak, right?"

"He hurt Draco." Nasrin guessed quietly.

"Feather right through the leg." Hermione confirmed sadly. "Draco was screaming that he'd have Steelbeak put down for hurting him, and Hagrid looked so worried…"

After a moment, the bushy-haired girl shook off the memory, trembling slightly.

"Sorry, that's the downside of Celebi's Ability. I've lived a few extra lifetimes, and keeping everything straight really messes with me. Anyway, the next major time I used Celebi was when the Dusknoir attacked."

"You thought it was Lucius Malfoy, didn't you?" Harry voiced, remembering how they had hid over a table where Minister Fudge and Lucius had met, drawn by an anonymous summons.

"I saw them enter The Three Black Flutes as we left, but only saw Minister Fudge when that…whoever it was, gave his speech. I figured it was Mister Malfoy and wanted to catch him in the act." She explained, toying with the last of her cheesecake. "But I was wrong, and I can only go back once. Can't use the Ability to relive an hour I've already been through twice."

"I wonder what all that was about, anyway." Ginny mused. "Fred claims that he heard the guy was wearing a Team Nocturne cloak, was it a copycat or something?"

"No." Nasrin responded firmly, and Harry nodded.

"No, he was the real deal."

Their hands linked, trusting that this was the right thing to do.

Ron, Neville and Hermione had helped get the Master Ball, and Neville had been the one to defeat Voldemort in the Chamber, and Ginny and Luna had stood by them just as firmly, and they trusted their friends.

So Harry and Nasrin took turns relaying what had happened when the Express was stopped, that fateful Halloween night, Sirius' time on Sevii and with The Sons, the Great Hogwarts Robbery, and their discovery that Remus and Professor Snape believe Sirius to be the traitor.

"So the guy at Le Fay's Landing, you think he's the same man that led Voldemort to your parents?" Ginny clarified.

"One and the same." Harry answered.

"We don't know what brought him out of hiding, but we're sure it was him." Nasrin explained.

"Tonks is sure that the Dusknoir he used were the same ones that Voldemort purchased from the Warden of Sevii, or bred from them, at least."

"Maybe he was just waiting for them to grow strong enough."

"Or maybe news finally reached him about Voldemort still being around." Hermione suggested. "Professor Dumbledore did his best to cover it up, and I know none of us said a word about the Master Ball or what really happened in the Chamber, but maybe someone else found out and passed that information along to that Nocturne agent."

Luna looked about in confusion.

"So, am I the only one that thinks Scabbers is the traitor?"

"Huh?" Ginny squeaked out after a few moments of silence.

"Scabbers. Ron's Raticate. He's the traitor in his Pokemagnus form. No one else has realized this?" The half-Veela elaborated, ticking off points on her fingers. "The Nocturne agent Harry's godfather battled used the same form as Mister Pettigrew's, a Raticate. Scabbers suddenly appeared one day shortly after the war ended-"

"By Merlin, that's right!" Ginny gasped. "Scabbers _did_ just show up! Mum and dad just assumed it was a trained one whose partner had died."

"That doesn't mean-" Hermione started.

"-He's been under the watchful eye of the Weasley family, so he's been unable to stage this attack until now, when Ron has left him unguarded."

"Why the Weasley's, though?" Nasrin wondered, and Harry answered as the realization dawned.

"Unless he assumed that no one would be looking for him at the house of a family who was utterly opposed to Voldemort's rule."

"It explains why he was disobedient, and why he won't fight for Ron." Luna added. "Face it, Scabbers is the man that betrayed your parents to Voldemort, Harry."

"Are you all forgetting that Scabbers is in a Poke Ball up in Ron's trunk?" Hermione sighed, wilting as she continued. "And there was a break-in in the dorm right around the time that Nocturne agent staged his attack."

"He staged the dorm room so the Aurors would come in and lock it down." Harry noted.

"That way, he could move about freely without anyone realizing that Scabbers was missing!" Nasrin finished.

"Alright, let's take a look here at the inventory the Aurors did on your dorm, Harry." Ginny decided, pulling out her Pokedex.

"Are you hacking into the Auror Force's mainframe?" Hermione demanded shrilly.

"Of course not." Ginny replied, waving off this concern. "I hacked it days ago. I was bored."

"And that's what you do when you're bored?" The bushy-haired Gryffindor retorted.

"Well, yeah. I got tired of taking control of Professor Dumbledore's computer and changing the wallpaper."

Nasrin reached over to ease Hermione's emotional breakdown as Ginny went through the list before her.

"Okay, let's take a look. Nope, nope, nope, I don't want to know why they went into so much detail about Dean's underwear, nope, nope, and nope. No Scabbers."

"He's the traitor, then." Harry concluded.

"Okay, so Scabbers is most likely the Nocturne agent." Hermione admitted, scowling. "And-EW, Ron let a grown man sit in his lap!"

"Yeah, that's disturbing." Nasrin agreed, Prince shuddering at her back.

"What do we do with this information, though?" Luna wondered. "I vote we gather the Z Warriors and train really hard before we take on the Nocturne agent. Of course, most likely he'll join us to defeat Frieza…"

"And we lost her again." The female Weasley muttered. "We can't tell Ron. He'll flip out, or deny it, or do something stupid."

"We'll try and find a way to let Neville know, but if we can't figure out a good time, he'll have to stay in the dark, too." Nasrin stated.

"But I'm going to tell Sirius and Tonks." Harry confirmed.

"And Professor McGonagall." Hermione suggested. "She's our Head of House, so she can keep an eye out in case 'Scabbers' tries to sneak back."

"That's a good point." Harry agreed.

"So only the people who know the real story are let in." Nasrin noted.

"And when they tell us not to do anything and let them handle it?" Ginny asked.

Both smirked.

"We nod our heads politely and then help anyway."

"Like we always do." Hermione grumbled, recalling Celebi. "Come on, we need to get to bed before we're missed."

"Kaio-ken times two!"

Luna blinked at all of the stares.

"I'm sorry, did I miss something?"


	27. Chapter 27

Winter gave way to spring, and life went on as usual at Hogwarts.

Professor McGonagall taught them how to make the perfect Poke Puffs for their Pokemon, which Nasrin and Neville excelled at, while Professor Flitwick had them creating Triggering Poke Balls, which only activated when certain requirements were met.

Ron completed an elite version of the Triggering Poke Ball, a Camo Ball, before the first lesson was even done.

Harry and Nasrin teamed up with their Pokemagnus partners during Professor Sprout's class-wide scavenger hunt and found all five Diglett she had hidden, using their bond and Speaking to ease the way.

Professor Trelawney's class had been dropped by all five of them in favor of Care and Coordinating, which delighted Hagrid, and Nasrin effortlessly showed what hours of constant companionship and Speaking could do.

Potions became easier to deal with when Harry pointedly ignored Professor Snape's insults while following his advice, and Nasrin continued to quietly promote Pearl's strict teaching when she whipped up a Max Elixir while working on that day's assignment.

There was little time to worry and fret over things out of their control, and both agreed that strengthening themselves and their Pokemon was just as important as catching the traitor.

Neither mentioned how Prince always walked at their backs, or how Hedwig sometimes refused to enter her Ball, watching from his shoulder.

 _Who could blame them?_


	28. Chapter 28

Lei cooed as she floated around the little garden Nasrin had made in the Gryffindor common room, holding a bag of seeds as the half-Gem carefully dug holes in moist soil.

She had already harvested Cheri, Chesto, Pecha, Rawst, Aspear, Persim, Lum and Oran berries from the many pots, which Professor McGonagall would share with the Potions Professor, and now it was time to plant Miracle berries in their place.

Harry watched, amazed, as Nasrin plucked a single seed from the bag and pressed it to her lips, covering the tiny kernel softly with soil before moving on to the next.

He had watched her do this often, and was still startled to find full-grown plants in those pots the next morning, almost waving hello.

"It's a Rose Quartz thing." She had admitted that first time, shrugging bashfully. "If I'm not careful, they kinda grow…sentience."

 _With that in mind, Harry was pretty glad there wasn't an army of berries trying to take over the school_.


	29. Chapter 29

Remus made his class a delight, balancing the lessons with entertaining presentations that helped students retain information more vividly.

After a winter of learning about Abilities, all the different types and categories, the scarred professor proceeded to show his class how to counter them.

This last assignment had each student assigned a different Weather Ability to counter, and the results so far had been…mixed.

Neville and Flora started strong, with the Bulbasaur's rare Chlorophyll Ability giving her a boost thanks to the wooden dummy's Drought Ability, and Remus had applauded the boy, pointing out how Abilities allowed one to consider moves that might not normally be very effective.

Pansy, however, suggested a Lanturn to counter Drizzle, and passed without House Points when she admitted to not actually owning the Pokemon.

Parvatti's Jynx happily accepted the dummy's Snow Warning Ability, being an Ice-type, while Crabbe responded to the same Ability by trying to have his Sawk punch the ice away.

Draco used his Boldore to survive Sand Stream, though his smug smirk fell when Remus pointed out that the Ability Sand Force would have given his Pokemon a boost.

Hermione had been a surprise, really.

Nasrin watched, amazed, as Kirlia lifted up her Moon Mirror just so, catching a ray of sunlight and pointing it at the wooden dummy-

The dummy burst into flames, and the class began to clap as Remus smiled.

"Well done, Miss Granger! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

The bushy-haired girl flushed, happily accepting the praise as she returned to her seat, Reuniclus clearing the mess away with a wave of his hand.

"Next is Miss Universe."

The half-Gem smiled, nodding to her friends as she rushed to the front of the room, Star swaying on one shoulder.

"Miss Universe, you were assigned to counteract the Snow Warning Ability. Reuniclus?"

The Psychic-type nodded, creating a protective barrier around the class.

"You may begin."

Star hopped down as the dummy was activated, and this clearly confused the class, who knew she had an Ice-type that could weather the ability like Parvatti's.

Clearing her throat, the Brionne lifted her head as the hail began to fall, a low, haunting melody falling from her mouth like fog over ocean waves.

As the pitch went higher, going from melancholy to enlightened, students jolted as the hail began to swirl out of alignment, creating intricate little braids and twists in the air with each note.

With a triumphant climax, Star rose on her tail as every piece of hail froze midair, shining rainbows across the room like tiny prisms.

With a spin, the Pop Star Pokemon pulled the icy shards in close and threw them back out with a clear note, flippers spread wide as the dummy was pierced by its own hail.

The indicator light went red, signaling defeat, and Reuniclus brought down his barrier as Remus stepped forward, surprised.

"What…?"

Smiling sheepishly, Nasrin shrugged as her first Pokemon preened, bowing.

"Well, Star's Ability is Liquid Voice. It makes all her sound-based moves Water-type attacks, but being a Brionne means she can also manipulate water with her voice. Ice is just frozen water, so…"

"Amazing job, Miss Universe." The Battle Professor decided, smiling. "Just like Mister Longbottom, you showed an understanding of your Pokemon and her Ability that helped fully counter the dummy's Ability. Twenty points to Gryffindor!"

Beaming, the pinkette skipped back up to her desk, and Harry offered a smile in congratulations.

"Alright, next up is Mister Potter."

With a peck from Nasrin and a thumbs-up from Ron, Harry rushed down, tugging on his jacket.

"Mister Potter, you were assigned to counteract the Sand Stream Ability. Reuniclus?"

Once the protective barrier was in place, Remus nodded.

"Okay, Harry, you may begin."

"Hedwig, Firebolt, I choose you!" The boy called, his albino Hoothoot and young Cyndaquil letting out determined cries as they appeared. "Alright, just like we practiced."

"Hey!" Draco shouted, leaping up. "Potter should get an F! He's not following instructions."

"What are you blabbering on about now?" Nasrin groused, Star glaring from around her neck.

"I haven't even started yet." Harry pointed out, annoyed.

"You summoned two Pokemon!" The Slytherin retorted, arms crossed with a grin that was a pale imitation of his father's. "That's a clear violation of the assignment, and thus an F!"

"Where does it say you can't use two Pokemon?"

"Miss Lovegood, what are you doing here?" Remus asked as everyone turned to stare at the Second Year that appeared next to Neville.

"Professor Snape let me go early!" She chirped, grinning, and held out a yellow slip of paper. "He said he was tired of me breaking the laws of physics! He gave me a note!"

Remus accepted the note, reading it over with resigned disbelief.

"I can't believe this is actually legitimate."

"Neither can I." Luna replied. "Now, can Mister Maco Dralfoy answer my question?"

"In the instructions for the assignment, of course." Draco sniffed.

"I don't remember reading that." Hermione noted, and murmurs rose up as people opened the instructions on their Pokedexes to double-check. "I don't see anything."

"Miss Granger is right, Mister Dralfoy-Malfoy!"

Remus rubbed his face as the half-Veela giggled.

"I never said in the instructions that you could only use one Pokemon. All of you, save Mister Potter, merely assumed that, since most official Pokemon battles are one-on-one, I would expect the same here. However, I'm not teaching you official battle techniques. In this class, you're learning how to fight and how to win, and sometimes that will mean commanding more than one Pokemon."

Draco sat down slowly, trying to maintain his dignity and composure, and Star made a face at him.

"Mister Potter, you may proceed."

"Alright, then." Harry voiced, refocusing. "Firebolt, use Flamethrower!"

Draco was already on his feet, ready to shout that attacking the dummy was very much against the rules, but the flames never quite reached that far.

"Hedwig, use Gust!"

The Hoothoot let out a blast of wind, sending the sand back to its source, and the class stared, stunned, as the indicator light flashed red, ending the sandstorm.

"Stop!"

The Pokemon ceased on command, and Nasrin grinned proudly.

"What happened?" Neville wondered, confused.

"What was that?"

"He knocked it out, but never hit it with an attack."

Reuniclus dropped the Psychic shields as Remus held up his hands for silence, Moony perched on his shoulder as the man approached, studying the dummy.

He poked the surface a few times, hissing in pain before turning to Harry.

"Mister Potter, thirty points to Gryffindor!"

"Thank you, professor."

"But what did he do?" Daphne wondered.

Retrieving a pair of tweezers, the professor probed at the many newly-acquired holes for a few moments.

"Do you know what happens when you superheat sand?" He wondered, pulling free a tiny, clear object. "Glass."

Harry nodded as Star chirruped happily.

"I realized that with two Fire-types and two Flying-types, I should focus on how those two types could work together. Firebolt's Flamethrower turned the grains of sand into bits of glass, while Hedwig's Gust sent them flying back at my opponent."

"A perfect combination of attacks." Remus acknowledged proudly.

"I've been paying attention during Hagrid's class, professor."

"And it shows. Well done."

As Harry returned to his seat, where Firebolt was showered with congratulatory kisses and Star puffed up Hedwig with praise, Remus addressed the class.

"Miss Granger, Miss Universe, and Mister Potter have demonstrated that you should always think outside the box when it comes to battling. Too many trainers just fire off attack after attack without thinking about strategy. Furthermore, Mister Potter has shown us that what we learn from one professor is not limited to a single classroom. By combining battle techniques with Coordinator skills, as Miss Universe has in the past, Mister Potter managed to create a cunning trap that turned the Sand Stream Ability against its user. In light of this, I think I'll end class early-"

Cheers rose up, and he waited patiently for everyone to settle down.

"-So that those of you that have not gone yet may consider what you saw today and reconsider your presentation. Furthermore, anyone who went today who wishes to redo their presentation may do so next time. Now then, class dismissed!"

* * *

"So what if I had a Fire-type melt the hail and turn it into raindrops?" Ron suggested.

Neville shook his head, studying the flower Puck was sitting on and the new white-pink blooms on Lei's thread.

"You don't have a Fire-type to do that, or a Water-type that would benefit."

"Why don't you just stick with Cubchoo going out?" Ginny wondered, looking up from her Poke Ball homework.

"I can't." Ron replied, glaring at both Harry and Nasrin where they were sharing an armchair. " _Someone_ had to show off, and now I need to try and come up with something dazzling."

"Don't ever say 'dazzling' again." Ginny snarked, and Star shook out her ears in agreement.

"Why not?"

"Sounds weird when you say it. No different than Hermione cursing, or Luna saying something sane and rational."

"But if you take away my wit, then I'm just a genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist." The half-Veela replied, Robin and Hedwig snickering from their perch on the armrest.

"Exactly."

"Ron, don't say it like that!" Hermione scolded as Squishie purred, rolling over on Dobby's lap for belly-rubs. "Harry and Nazz did a great job in class, and are forcing us to go beyond the self-imposed limits we set for ourselves. We should be excited about this challenge."

"But I like my self-imposed limits!" Ron whined, earning flat looks from Squeakers and Togetic. "We're really close. Next year, we're going to visit every Gauntlet Stadium in the region!"

"You'll never get ahead if you keep up that attitude!" Hermione chided, Snow and Ludwig nodding sagely. "Life is about pushing yourself further, learning more, and conquering goals before moving to the next one."

"Life is about having fun and enjoying yourself." Ron countered, Scooby's ears twitching forward as Eevee nestled further in his mane.

"You're both wrong." Luna claimed. "The meaning of life is forty-two."

A beep had Harry pulling out his Pokedex, and Firebolt clambered onto Nasrin's shoulder as the Marauder's App popped open.

Remus had updated his creation just that last summer, so now, rather than just pick up Pokedex locations all over the region, you could scan the individual frequency and IP code of a Poke Ball for the same effect.

The previous year, when Luna had her belongings stolen, had driven Harry to scan all of their Poke Balls…

Including Scabbers'.

SCABBERS FOUND flashed up at them, and the pair shared a look.

Without a word, Harry passed his Pokedex to Hermione and stood with Nasrin, heading straight for the teleporter without a backwards glance.

Appearing in the Third Year girl's dorm, Nasrin stepped out of her sneakers and yanked on hiking boots, her special trainer jacket mostly covering the 'I'm Not Short, I'm Just Concentrated Awesome' crop top she was wearing.

Grabbing up her pin-covered canvas messenger bag, the pinkette returned to the common room moments before Harry, their Pokemon already circling.

"See, even Harry and Nazz are ready to go!" Ron voiced, and both blinked at him.

"Go where?" Harry wondered.

"After Scabbers, mate!"

"We're not going after Scabbers." Nasrin replied, and Ron stared at them in confusion.

"But, mate, it's Scabbers! I have to get him back! Dad will kill me if I don't! And mum will resurrect me, then kill me again!"

"We're going after Scabbers, but not without help." Harry explained, retrieving his Pokedex.

"If Scabbers is here, then the Team Nocturne agent is with him, and we're going to need backup." Nasrin elaborated.

"We're going to get Hagrid. You and Neville go find Professor Dumbledore."

"Good idea!" Ginny agreed quickly. "Professor Dumbledore defeated hundreds of Team Nocturne grunts during the war with his Pokemon! This fake will be a piece of cake for him."

"Right!" Luna stated dramatically. "And Ginny and I will find Bronn and Tyrion so we can rally the forces! A Lovegood always repays her debts."

"If you think Mister Bronn can help…" Ron conceded, confused.

"Yes, yes he can!" Hermione cut in quickly. "Come on, we need to go!"

Neville and Ron raced off, and Luna glanced at the others as Harry and Nasrin led them the opposite way.

"We aren't really going to find Bronn, are we?"

"No." Harry answered, recalling his own Pokemon as Nasrin gave orders with hand signals. "I contacted Sirius and Tonks."

"They're going to join us, and we're going to catch that traitor once and for all."

The half-Veela smiled, singing softly as their contingent raced out of the castle.

" _And so he spoke, and so he spoke, that Lord of Castamere_ … _But now the rains weep o'er his halls, with no one there to hear_ …"


	30. Chapter 30

"Why did it have to be the Shrieking Shack?" Ginny complained, panting slightly from the fast pace Harry and Nasrin had set.

"You're not scared, are you?" Harry asked, following the bend of the lakeshore.

Hogwarts Island was a nearly perfect circle, except for the large inward curve on its northern shore, and it was near the center of this curve that the Shrieking Shack sat.

"So we're waiting for Sirius Black, right?" Ginny asked as the dying sunlight revealed Whomper the Sudowoodo standing guard. "Right? Waiting for the Lord of Sevii?"

"No time." Nasrin replied, summoning her shield as Star tensed across one shoulder.

"I'm not letting him escape. Not after everything he's done." Harry agreed firmly.

"The Dex says he's still there, Harry." Hermione noted. "I think we can-"

"We go now." The half-Gem cut in.

"Okay!" Luna chirped, skipping towards the water until Hermione stopped her. "I thought you meant we should just jump in the lake now and save Whomper the time."

"She has a point." Ginny pointed out. "We're going to end up tossed, anyway."

"I don't think so." Harry replied, slowly walking towards the Rock-type. "Let me try Speaking to him."

The boy locked eyes with Whomper, and-

Nasrin yanked him back moments before Whomper's green fist smashed down where he had been standing, and Star roared back, forcing the massive Sudowoodo back with a Bubblebeam.

"I suggest running!" Ginny shouted.

"Wait!" Luna shouted, head tilting. "Don't you feel it?"

Nasrin paused, a strange tingle in the back of her mind, and stared up at the Imitation Pokemon with unfocused eyes.

"He's…lonely." She whispered, and Harry turned to the half-Gem as Luna approached Whomper.

"He's in pain…Alone…So much doubt…"

The little blonde looked up and grinned.

"Hello, handsome!"

Whomper paused, confused, and touched a hand to his chest as if to ask "Who, me?"

"You're a good-looking tree, do you know that? People laugh at you, people hate you, but why do they hate you?"

Before Whomper could open his mouth, Luna jabbed her finger at him in emphasis.

"Because-They-Are-Jealous!"

The Sudowoodo was startled, shaking his head, but the half-Veela pressed on.

"Look at that boyish trunk. Look at that sweet canopy. Do you wanna talk about physical strength? Do you want to talk about sheer timber? Do you want to talk about the forest ideal? You are a god."

Whomper puffed up under the praise, head held high, and Luna stepped forward to rest a hand on his 'trunk'.

"And listen to me, you are not evil. You-Are-Good!"

Nasrin rubbed at her eye as the humongous Pokemon sat and cried, sniffling, and Harry looked between them with wide eyes.

"This is a nice sapling." Luna cooed, wrapping her arms around the Rock-type. "This is a mother's acorn. And I want the world to know once and for all, and without any shame, that we love him. I'm going to train you."

Whomper sniffed, delight shining in his eyes.

"I'm going to show you how to walk, how to speak, how to move, how to think. Together, you and I are going to make the greatest single contribution to Pokemon training since the discovery of Fire-types!"

"Luna?" Ginny called softly.

"MY NAME-IS-FRANKENSTEIN!"

Luna blinked, seeing that most of her friends were leaning back.

"Sorry, got wrapped up in the moment."

Nasrin nodded as the half-Veela held out a Poke Ball, Whomper happily allowing himself to be captured.

"Alright, that's taken care of. What's next?"

"I…I…"

Harry placed a hand on Ginny's shoulder, and the youngest Weasley deflated as he quietly took Nasrin's hand, offering a tissue.

"Nevermind. Let's go."

"Are you okay?" The Potter whispered, tugging her along towards the Shack.

"Yeah, I'm just…"

Shaking her head, the pink-haired teenager ran a hand through chin-length curls.

"Hedwig was right, I guess, about me awakening Veela powers."

Knowing that this was not the time, Harry nodded, and they stepped into the Shrieking Shack together.

A more honest name, however, would have been the Shrieking Barn, since this old, derelict building was three stories tall and nearly eighteen meters deep, full of twisting hallways and crumbling rooms, every floorboard squeaking and wind rattling through the walls like a hiss.

Prince paced on Nasrin's other side, tense as a coiled spring, and Hermione was almost unnerved at how easily the rest of her Pokemon slid into the surrounding shadows.

"I swear, if I die tonight, I'm so haunting you!" Ginny threatened when a startled Pidgey nearly gave them all a heart attack.

"We'll be fine." Harry assured, calling out Ludwig.

The Litwick looked around and let out a shriek, rushing over to a nearby shelf to dust it, and Nasrin bit back a smile.

"Ludwig, we need light, not maid service." The boy pointed out patiently, and his Pokemon whimpered, drawing Snow back out to comfort him.

"You can clean later." The half-Gem assured.

"Now, please?"

After a few moments, Ludwig nodded, settling on Snow's back and flaring up his wick to cast a blue light around them that was reflected further by the Vulpix's ice-encrusted coat.

"So, what exactly is the plan here?" Ginny wondered. "I mean, this is a man-"

"Or woman." Hermione cut in.

"-That has a horde of Dusknoir at his or her beck and call. No offense, but I doubt all your Pokemon are going to do much good."

"That's why I brought the Beast with me." Harry answered, holding up said Poke Ball.

"And I'll call Lion, just in case." Nasrin added.

"You're actually going to try and battle this maniac?" Hermione shrieked, hushing herself at everyone else's insistence. "You don't even know if Zygarde will obey you!"

"He'll protect us, at the very least." The half-Gem assured.

"He might not see me as a strong enough trainer, but he won't let me die. He's honor-bound to the Line of Slytherin."

Snow yipped softly, and Ludwig hissed, waving his arms.

"You hear something?" Harry deduced, and both Pokemon nodded.

The group silently followed as Snow trotted down the hallway, taking a sharp right and waiting for Ludwig to decide on a staircase to their right, hopping up on silent paws.

As they ascended, a hushed voice became audible, and Prince lifted his head higher, ears twitching, when Harry and Nasrin shared a glance.

"Who's that?" Hermione whispered. "The Nocturne agent?"

"I don't know…" The boy admitted.

"But I recognize it."

Taking the last steps three at a time, Nasrin rammed open the door that sat closed there, startling the room's sole occupant.

While this particular space had once been a bedroom, long disuse and sneaky students had turned it into a secret clubhouse, with posters and racy magazine pages taped to the walls and scavenged classroom furniture pushed up against the walls.

"You." Harry voiced, jaw clenched.

"Mister Potter?" Professor Snape replied, surprised, Pokedex in hand. "Miss Universe?"

"I knew it! I knew it was you!"

But Nasrin hesitated, gaze unfocused, as the others arrived.

"Ludwig, Flamethrower!"

The tiny candle Ghost rushed forward, arms out wide…

And hugged Professor Snape, cooing happily.

"What the…?" Ginny started, dumbfounded.

"Ludwig?" Nasrin voiced, shaking the strange trance away as Harry deflated, confused.

"What are you doing?"

"He wouldn't dare attack Snape." Sirius informed them, emerging from a side door with Tonks, Padfoot and Rotom at the ready. "Look at you, Snape. A bunch of children got the drop on you. You've gotten soft in your old age."

"Black…" The Potions Professor said, and a tiny smile pulled at his mouth as Sirius embraced him.

"Well, now I know how everyone else feels when I say something that confuses them." Luna noted, head tilting.

"How are you alive?" Professor Snape asked, holding out a hand for Ludwig to rest on.

"Long story, and I only want to tell it once."

"Then you can tell it now, since we're all here." Remus stated from the stairway.

"Remus!" Sirius cheered, rushing to give his friend a hug. "Come on now, give us a kiss!"

"People whisper enough things about us, Sirius, let's not give them more ammunition." Remus replied with a roll of the eyes, barely hiding his delight. "We have much to discuss."

"Of course we do, starting with your love life. Now, I've kept a list for myself…"

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Harry exploded, gesturing wildly.

"Why is Ludwig hugging Snape?"

"Why did _you_ hug Snape?"

"Why are all of you here?"

"Why is everyone hugging Snape?!"

"Because he's huggable." Sirius snarked. "Go on, give it a try. He smells like chocolates."

"Please, don't." Professor Snape cut in dryly.

"Add me to the Really Confused Club." Tonks admitted, raising a hand.

"And me as well." Remus voiced once circumstances settled in. "How are you alive?"

"That can wait." Professor Snape stated, waving a hand.

Sirius and Remus guided the Third and Second Years to sit on a beat-up sofa and chairs, Prince laying across their feet like Star was across Nasrin's shoulders, and Snow sat beneath where Ludwig still sat in the man's palm.

"I believe an explanation is in order, and Mister Potter and Miss Universe did ask their questions first. Then we'll get into Black's mysterious resurrection."

"I suppose I should be an adult and let him go first…" Sirius admitted, ignoring a coughed snicker from Tonks. "We wouldn't need to cover this if you had just been honest with him from the beginning."

"That is my way, you know that." Professor Snape replied, before turning his attention to the Gryffindors. "I would think that some of your questions would already be answered. Ludwig holds the key."

"You're the one who gave him to Harry, aren't you?" Hermione realized.

The man pulled out a Poke Ball just like Ludwig's, releasing the Chandelure within so both Ghosts could reunite.

"Yes, Miss Granger. Bach is Ludwig's father."

"Then…you and my mother…?" Harry started, unsure.

"Let us start from the beginning." The Potions Professor advised.

"Do we have time for this?" Tonks wondered.

"He needs to know." Sirius replied. "Go ahead, Snape."

As was his habit, Professor Snape began to pace as he spoke.

"Your mother was a lonely child. Even though she was pretty and smart and spirited, she never had any real friends while living on Little Surrey. Her parents weren't like the _Dursleys_ , but Lily couldn't connect with them. There was something different about her, and even she sensed it. She had only two real friends. The first was a young boy her age, he himself lonely, who came to care for her as if she were his sister. The other was a man, a hardened sea captain who brought supplies from Avalon to Little Surrey. He was as straight and solid as cast iron, and his ways and manners were harsh, some might say cruel. But he only did it because he wished to bring out the best in those he taught. Your mother was never frightened by the captain, and he, like the boy, came to care for Lily Evans greatly. The captain's name was Tobias Snape, my father. It is our fault your mother left Little Surrey. We are the ones that taught her about Pokemon, and our boat is what she used to make her escape. But we could never fault her for doing it. Who were we to deny her the chance to experience life with Pokemon? She was my sister. In another life, you would have called me uncle."

Silence fell, and Nasrin clasped Harry's hand tight.

"Why?" He finally asked. "Why wasn't I told about this? Why am I hearing about this now? Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"Because I was ashamed." Professor Snape admitted, small and pained. "I failed your mother, Harry. I worked with Remus to protect them, and I failed. I got my sister killed. I couldn't save you from the Dursleys. I failed you, too. I have had no right to be a part of your life. And honestly, I did not know if I could be a part of your life, not the way you needed those early days. I am not a man of hugs and cuddles."

Ginny snorted at that.

"I am my father's son. Gestures of affection are not easily given, when it comes to us. Perhaps that is wrong, but what's done is done. I was not the type of man you needed, Harry, I could see that the moment you stepped into my classroom. You need a soft touch, a kind guardian, and that is not me. I am a taskmaster, a drill sergeant. So I settled for merely seeing you as another student, to teach you as I taught others, but I have always hoped that later, when you were ready, I could find a way to be a part of your life."

"I think all of us wanted to tell you, Harry." Remus said. "It's just that it wasn't our secret to tell."

Sirius nodded, clearly having disagreed but honoring the man's decision anyway.

"Alright, we can hash this all out later." Hermione redirected, frowning. "Can we get back to the main focus here? The Team Nocturne agent?"

"What are you two doing here, anyway?" Nasrin agreed, eyeing the professors.

"We're tracking the man that led Voldemort to Potter's parents. Same as you, I assume." Professor Snape answered.

"You knew it wasn't Peter?" Sirius piped up, surprised.

"For me, it took a while and a lot of convincing." Remus admitted sheepishly. "Snape always had doubts."

"Peter Pettigrew was many things, but was always a true friend to you Marauders." The Potions Professor stated, the title coming out with disgust.

Ginny raised a brow at that, and the man continued with his usual dry tone.

"Just because we're able to be in the same room now doesn't mean we were all friends. I tended to be a favorite target of Mister Potter's father when it came to his 'pranks'."

"And you and Lily-flower gave as good as you got!" Sirius reminded with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, real interesting old people." Tonks interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Facts, details, plot. Condense it down and speed it up."

"You believe it's Sirius." Harry piped up.

"You think he's the traitor." Nasrin clarified, Prince rumbling.

"We believe no such thing." Snape huffed. "Black, able to pull something like that off? The man doesn't have the brain cells to do such a thing."

"And I love you too, Snape." The Lord of Sevii teased, making kissy faces.

"Actually, we didn't realize Sirius was alive until he walked through the door tonight." Remus stated. "But we should have assumed, knowing what we know."

"If you didn't mean Sirius…" Nasrin started, emotions roiling under her skin.

"Then who were you referring to when you said you wanted to kill Black?" Harry finished, confused.

"He was referring to me."

Prince leapt to his feet, and Luna let out a scream as Neville's limp body landed at their feet, unresponsive and beaten bloody.

Moony and Padfoot moved to protect their trainers as Snape called out his Seviper, Snow, Ludwig, Star and Prince standing guard over the Third and Second Years as they moved with Luna to surround Neville.

"I wouldn't do any of that, if I were you."

A new figure appeared in the side door.

"Wouldn't want anymore blood spilt, would we?"

"I'm sorry, guys." Ron stuttered out with a hiccup, a knife held to his throat. "I wanted to find Scabbers…"

"And you found him, didn't you?" The Team Nocturne agent laughed as he revealed himself. "How kind of all of you to gather here and save me the time of tracking you down."

Sirius went pale as the man's face registered.

"Regulus?"

Regulus Black merely smiled.

"Hello, brother."

Harry was still as Nasrin leaned down to press a kiss to Neville's cheek, shield already in hand, taking in the man that had betrayed his parents.

Regulus Black was no decayed, wretched figure, cursed by his vile crime, but a beautiful man, with bright eyes and silken hair and sculpted face.

But when one looked a second too long, cracks appeared.

The smile was too forced, the eyes gleamed with insanity, the cheeks too gaunt, until he seemed to slowly transform into a grinning skeleton, come to take their lives.

"Now now now." Regulus chided, grasping Ron's throat to waggle his knife at the assembled group. "Let's not do anything hasty."

"What trick is this?" Sirius demanded, fighting through his shock. "How dare you wear my brother's face! Who are you? Who are you?!"

"You know who I am, brother. Though I'm not shocked that you don't address me as such. How much of your life was spent forgetting about me?"

"I never forgot about Regulus!" Sirius snarled. "And you're not him!"

"Please keep denying the truth." The Nocturne agent laughed, slowly entering the room with Ron as a shield. "I find it oh so humorous."

Remus placed a hand on his friend's shoulder as Tonks and Snape moved to shield the students.

"You faked your death."

"Oh, Remus, the intelligent. I suppose it's easy to look gifted to your moronic friends when you stammer out the obvious." Regulus replied dryly. "Of course I did, imbecile. Lord Voldemort needed one willing to do his bidding, one who could be quiet and cunning. I volunteered, and was rewarded with the DNA Splicer."

The man shifted, revealing said Splicer hanging around his neck.

"It has allowed for many bits of trickery these last two decades."

"That's how you were able to take on a Raticate form." Snape noted, Seviper tense at his side. "Clever, if foolish. The Splicer degrades the body and mind."

"Only if overused." Regulus fired back. "That's why I kept the Raticate form and hid with the Weasleys all this time. It allowed me to avoid the madness and the damage the Splicer can cause."

"Why?" Sirius forced out, torn between devastation and rage so strong it vibrated Nasrin's bones.

"I know what you're asking, brother. You don't want to know why I worked with Voldemort. You don't give a second thought to the torment I put you through. Admit it, a part of you is willing to forgive me for putting you in Sevii to rot away. No, the only thing you want to know is, why did I kill your precious James?"

Sirius lunged, Remus and Tonks barely able to restrain him for Ron's sake.

"You bastard! How could you do that to me?"

"To you? _To you_?" Regulus replied, fury dripping from his words. "That wasn't about you! Nothing with the Potters was about you! It was between them and Lord Voldemort!"

"They were my friends." The Lord of Sevii snarled.

"AND I AM YOUR BROTHER!" The traitor roared back. "Or have you forgotten that? I wouldn't be surprised. You were always so ready to push me aside in favor of your precious Marauders. My blood is your blood, but time and again, you refused to stand by my side."

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." Nasrin whispered, the words falling like pebbles from her lips as she stared between the brothers.

"I never did anything to hurt you." Sirius snapped. "You were the one that pulled away from me."

"Liar." Regulus growled, keen eyes darting over the group as if daring them to attack.

In that moment, Harry and Nasrin realized that he would slit Ron's throat without a care anyway, but he wanted them to live with that guilt.

"We are Blacks. We're supposed to stand together! Voldemort offered us greatness, and you spat on his hand when he offered it to you in friendship."

Regulus' glare turned to Harry.

"The same was true of your parents, boy. My Lord offered them friendship, and just as Sirius did to me, they chose others over their own."

"Voldemort didn't offer friendship, he offered servitude." Sirius growled. "Blacks stand together, right? Well, you forgot that Blacks _never kneel_. And I never turned my back on you. I offered you time and again to join with us, not just when you joined that cult, but when we were kids. I offered to show you around Hogwarts, or help you with your homework, and you refused! You chose to abandon me, not the other way around."

"You expected me to associate with a filthy Gryffindor?" Regulus sneered.

"Do you even hear yourself, you little prat?" Snape cut in, fixing the man with the withering look he used on students. "You claim that he wasn't there for you, but you made no attempts to bridge the gap. Furthermore, you actually put up your own arbitrary obstacles to keep the two of you apart! My sister was a Gryffindor, and no one said a word about the two of us spending time together."

Regulus trembled with fury, his early calm swept away in an instant.

"It's all him! We were supposed to be together, the Princes of Slytherin, ruling the House of Salazar together! But no! Not my brother! Not Sirius! He had to side with that fool James Potter, and go to the House of Salazar's sworn enemy! He betrayed me, his own brother! Abandoned me for his new brothers!"

Snow let out a low yip, ears twitching back, and Nasrin nodded.

It was clear that the DNA Splicer's madness had not been avoided after all, and this made Regulus Black an even greater danger.

"But I took care of your brothers, didn't I?" Regulus purred, pulling his fury back under a disturbing chill of calm. "I took care of the ones that stole you from me. James Potter, the golden boy of Gryffindor…Little Peter, the suck-up…I even managed to keep you and Remus apart."

His gaze fell to Harry again, features twisting with disgust.

"But even then, you still side with others. That Potter brat is nothing, Sirius, and you know it. Oh, come on now, don't give me that blank look. You see it as well as I do. You tried to grow close to him, tried to love him as you loved James, but it's now plain to you that he's a pale shadow of your friend. Even with Rose Quartz, he is nothing, and he has dragged down a great warrior. Every moment you look at him, all you can think is, why did you live instead of him? Come now, deny it! Tell me how wrong I am, how I speak falsehoods. But you can't, because in your heart, you know I'm right."

Regulus made a small gesture to encompass the group, ignoring the way Star crouched lower in response, ruffles rippling in upset.

"Look at those around you, brother. Truly look at them. How can you stand being near them? Remus, who so easily abandoned you and never once tried to find you. Severus, the callous man that represents everything you hate. Those pathetic children, who muddle their way through life, constantly getting in the way. Your whore of a niece, who can't even walk two steps without tripping over her own feet. They are chains and shackles that keep you tight to the ground, unable to be free! I can see it in your eyes, brother. I can see the longing, the desire to be free. You hate what they all represent. Duty, responsibility. You don't think they're just as disgusted by you as you are of them? Remus fears you, Sirius, he fears your influence on precious Harry. The children look upon you and see only a madman and a rebel, fearful of what you've done in your long absence and what you may do again. And Snape, Snape hates you just as much as he hated James. He may pretend well, but I see it in his eyes. I see the truth. He'll be the end of you, brother, you mark my words!"

Regulus sneered at the shock and indignation on said childrens' faces.

"Oh, don't look so surprised, children! This is just one of those hard truths that needs to be learned. You think these friendships will remain forever? Please, stop being so naïve. I've watched each of you for three years, and I've seen your true colors."

He squeezed Ron's cheeks, earning a gurgle of protest as Snow growled.

"Ron, the stupid and jealous git that only stands by you all because it makes him look better. He hates you, Harry. He hates your fame and how everyone flocks to you. He wants that for himself, and he'll never be truly satisfied until you're dead and he's the one with power. And Hermione, the annoying bookworm. Always inserting yourself in things, always having to try and take command! You've never realized that you don't help bring people forward, you just hold them back. Like Harry. Harry the weakling. Harry the pathetic. I hated your mother and father with a passion, but at least they could fight! You rely on Rose Quartz's strength, and in doing so drag her down. And Rose Quartz, you're meant to be a leader, a commander of people! And yet here you stand, helpless. Why? Because you don't want Ron here hurt, when he would happily slit the throat of your precious Fusion partner if it meant he'd get some recognition!"

Regulus looked over them all with revulsion.

"Brother, how can you stand being around these people? Why keep this game up? Isn't it time to end this farce? Why stand against your family with those that at most tolerate you? Join me, stand at my side once more! The House of Black has crumbled, and it's up to us, the last sons of our Ancient and Noble family, to repair it. Break free of them. Slit Lupin's throat, break Snape's neck, and let us take these children as offerings to our Lord Voldemort when he finally returns!"

Regulus held out a hand, silently pleading, and Sirius said nothing for a long moment.

"Perhaps…"

The whisper was a shock, but the Lord of Sevii continued fiercely.

"Perhaps you're as full of shit as I always thought! Of course he isn't James, and I wouldn't want him to be! That would dishonor my friend! Harry isn't James reborn, he's James' son, and I love him as I would love my own son! Just as I love Remus and Tonks and these kids and hell, even Severus! That's something you can't understand, Regulus. Something you've never been able to comprehend. Your twisted little mind can't fathom that love isn't a limited thing. It has no boundaries or set mass. Love grows and expands every day! Love isn't a bit of sugar that's to be parceled out in little doses, there's enough for all. If Rose Quartz taught us anything, it's that there can be love for enemies as well as our allies. You claim that I abandoned you, but I did no such thing! It's you that continues to press the issue, who makes wild demands and expects the world to bend while you remain firm and rigid!"

Sirius placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"You're so quick to judge them, to focus on faults and failings, but you don't see that your whiny, pathetic little insults are nothing more than your own preconceived notions. Each and every one of them is honorable and special in their own way. It's not their fault that you're too angry to look past your own misguided views and see that the faults you perceive in them don't exist! And even if they did exist, Regulus, even then, who are you to say they aren't worthy? That's Team Nocturne's failure. You're all so busy blaming others and judging them that you miss all the potential they have. Maybe if you got your head out of your arse, you'd see that!"

Sirius stepped forward, fire blazing in his eyes, and Regulus seemed to forget himself for a moment, reverting to the young brother that looked upon his sibling with love and fear.

"Join you? Has your time pretending to be a Raticate dulled your mind? Did you think I'd forget what you did to me, to my friends, to my family?! You murdered people I cared about and locked me away! Oh Sirius, I want you to stand beside me! Ha! I spent six years rotting in Sevii because of you! You talk of abandonment? YOU LEFT ME IN HELL!"

Remus and Tonks regained their wits enough to restrain Sirius once more, and he only struggled for a moment, blazing rage morphing into icy fury.

"Stand by you, Regulus? No, I'll stand over your damn body as the life leaks from you. The last thing you will feel will be my boot on your throat. Let the House of Black burn, and you burn with it."

"Could we not egg the man on?" Ron stammered, and Regulus squeezed his throat.

"So you've made your choice. So be it. Maybe the blood of your 'friends' will cool your temper and make you see the error of your ways!"

"Stop!" Nasrin screamed as the man lifted his knife, shoving a path through the adults with Harry at her back.

"Enough sulking around and hiding." The Potter decided, steadying himself. "You claim to be so grand and so wonderful. Prove it."

"Let Ron go, and let's settle this with our Pokemon." Nasrin agreed, Prince clawing at the ground like an impatient Tauros.

"Our friends aren't involved in this. Just us, Remus, Sirius and Snape."

"Let Tonks take the others. We've been trapped in this dance for so long. Let's just finish it right here, right now."

For a single moment, Regulus' distaste for them faded.

"Spoken like a true warrior." He acknowledged, pressing the knife in just enough for Ron to whimper in pain. "But I didn't survive this long playing fair, and the odds aren't in my favor, so I think I'll just take my leave-"

A leaf-quill spun out of the darkness and stuck in Regulus' knife-wielding hand, and the man jerked back, releasing his prey-

With a roar that outclassed Lion's by sheer fury, Nasrin smashed into his chest and bodily threw him through a wall as Lei floated down to Ron's dropped form, cooing while the healing aroma of her flowers did their work.

"You've hurt my friends." She intoned darkly, glaring down at the shell-shocked man sprawled helplessly before her. "You hurt my family. You hurt my Harry. And I'm going to extract every ounce of blood you owe for that."

"You wouldn't." He claimed, struggling to stand after such a blow. "You're the Love Gem. The Great Mother. You don't kill."

Nasrin's hard eyes pierced right through his bravado, unyielding.

"You have no idea what I'd do for those I love."

"You killed Neville."

Luna's soft words made the her blood run cold, and she half-turned to see the little blonde with her hands on a still-battered Neville's chest, heart sinking at the realization.

 _She hadn't_ …

"What's this?" Regulus sneered. "Are you going to say something silly now? That's what you do, isn't it? Make a joke or a strange comment that makes others wonder what's wrong with you? That's what you're known for. Go on, say something funny for us."

"You…You killed Neville." Luna repeated, her voice like the wind over a bleak landscape, and Nasrin felt the sorrow so deep it cracked open her bones. "You killed…my Neville."

The half-Veela's head snapped up, eyes gone utterly black as energy crackled around her, lifting her hair in an ethereal aura.

The very air seemed to pulse, and Harry felt like his entire body was a violin string that was plucked, like his Speaker sense suddenly came alive in response.

Nasrin was paralyzed, collapsing against a nearby wall as the _heartbreakragedespair_ crashed into her moments before Luna let out a piercing wail that shook the entire Shack.

Every ounce of her pain was in that scream, so much more terrible than anything the Dusknoir had managed to do, and Nasrin distantly realized she was crying, her own guilt and agony compounding the effects of Luna's shriek.

It only lasted moments.

This attack had been born of instinct rather than design, and the blonde collapsed with a rattling sigh, out cold.

Despite being at the epicenter, Regulus regained his senses first, and called out his Manectric.

"Flash!"

The group shouted as they were blinded, dual snarling as heavy bodies hit the walls, and Nasrin scrambled up as her vision cleared to find Regulus long gone and her Lycanroc fallen across the floor, blood welling up from a deep wound in his side.

"SCOOBY!"

"Stay here!" Sirius shouted, signaling Padfoot to follow him as the half-Gem pressed a kiss to her Pokemon's snout, teary-eyed. "Severus, Remus!"

The professors nodded, already following the Lord of Sevii out at a run.

"Protect the children!"

Tonks nodded, releasing all of her Pokemon, as Nasrin healed Ron and Luna, choking back a sob when both stayed unconscious.

"Her heart's slowing down." She forced out instead, Lei hovering around her head in concern.

"Tonks, we need to get to the castle!" Harry ordered, reaching out to clutch the pinkette's hand.

"Sirius said to stay here. Regulus could still be around-"

"And he'll kill us here just as easily as he will heading back to the castle!" The Potter fired back. "The only difference is Ron and Luna _will_ die if we don't get them to Nurse Poppy! Dobby!"

The Alakazam popped out, drooping at the sight of his trainer's friends on the ground with Scooby, who blinked slowly as Star pat his rocky mane.

 _Good Harry Potter? Good Nazzie?_

"Dobby, can you teleport our friends to the infirmary?" Harry wondered, heart twisting as Nasrin kept trying to wake them with kisses and crying when it continued to fail.

 _No no no don't die don't die_ _ **you can't die**_ -

 _No, Good Harry Potter_ , Dobby admitted sadly.

"Harry, the anti-teleport shielding." Hermione remembered, and he cursed.

After the dorm break-in, Professor Dumbledore had gotten Madame Bones to authorize the newest and most advanced security system money could buy, which had not only involved new security cameras and motion detectors, but anti-teleport shielding that only Pokemon with special bracelets could get through.

Dobby had not been on the receiving list.

"We'll have to take them ourselves." Harry decided, jolting Nasrin from her growing panic. "Nazz."

With a deep breath, the half-Gem lifted both Neville and Luna into her arms, ignoring the blood as Harry carefully helped situate Ron piggyback-style, recalling an exhausted Scooby.

"Prince."

The Type: Null rumbled, moving to support a shaken Ginny and Hermione, as Tonks and Harry led their way out of the Shrieking Shack, Pokemon a silent vigil at their backs.

The temperature had dropped, those last tendrils of winter, and the group moved towards the lights of Hogwarts in the moonlit dark.

"What happens next is on your heads!"

"Regulus." Hermione gasped, pointing up at the astronomy tower, and there was the form of said Black hanging from a window, a large orb clutched in one hand. "What the-?"

"It's a Control Orb." Tonks realized, eyes widening. "Sirius uses one to control-"

A blast of red light erupted from within, stone cracking as great blocks of masonry went flying, and Nasrin summoned a bubble as trees were crushed and Hogwarts' very walls were pierced, destroying anything and anyone in their path.

Then Dusknoir came from the gaping holes, howling and moaning as they descended upon the unsuspecting school, and screams shattered the quiet night like machine-gun fire.

"NO!" Harry screamed, the bubble falling away at Nasrin's despair.

 _I failed I failed I'm sorry_ _ **I'm so sorry**_ -

And Harry was running towards the chaos, Ludwig's Flamethrower weakening the door so he could bust through, and her whole world ground to a halt.

 _ **Not Harry**_.

Taking a deep breath, Nasrin looked to the others, expression calm and fiercer than anything Tonks had ever seen before.

"Stay close."

Hermione called out Kirlia as they ran after the boy, Snow taking point as she led them through the empty, devastated hallways with Squeakers and Squishie flanking her, Robin swooping past on white wings with a cry.

There was a madness tickling at the edges of her mind, a loss of hope, and she burst onto the second floor to find the Dusknoir pulling away from the fallen form of Zygarde, their brethren shattered and broken in his wake.

"HARRY!"

Kirlia grabbed the boy with her Psychic powers, and Nasrin called out quick orders to Ludwig and Dobby before grabbing him by the shoulders, staring into those bright green eyes with all the love and fear and devastation that pulsed from her heart in that moment.

"Harry, stop."

After a moment, the insanity and bloodlust drained away, and the half-Gem pulled him into a nearby classroom after the others, Hermione calling out Whomper to physically barricade the door with Prince while Kirlia and Dobby used their Psychic powers to shield the windows.

"Oh god…" He whispered, leaning into her as the adrenaline faded. "Remus…Remus…"

"I know." Nasrin whispered, Star pressing tight to their ankles. "We have a plan."

Through the grief, Harry took precious seconds to realize what this meant.

"The Time Turner Ability."

"Exactly." Hermione answered, releasing Celebi. "We go back one hour, and we get this right. We save everyone-"

"And we kick Regulus Black's ass!" Ginny finished firmly.

"Can Celebi handle sending all of us?" Harry worried, looking at the tiny Legendary.

"It's a risk." Hermione admitted. "When I first began training her, just sending me back would drain her. We do this, and she might not be able to use her Ability again for quite some time. But it's a risk we're willing to take."

Both nodded, holding out their hands.

"For Remus."

"For Sirius." Tonks added, placing her own hand on theirs.

"For Neville." Ginny agreed, adding her hand.

"For Luna and Ron." Hermione stated, her own hand on top.

"For everyone." The group finished.

"Sudo!" Whomper agreed, nearly knocking them over with his hand just as Celebi activated her Ability.

The whole world went white, time roaring by like ocean waves and everything passing by at once-

"Harry? You okay, mate?"

Harry and Nasrin blinked, realizing they were back in the Gryffindor common room on their shared armchair, Pokemon lounging as they had been before the Marauder's App sent that tell-tale warning.

"Mate, you alright?" Ron asked again.

"Harry?" Neville agreed, leaning forward. "Nazz? You-"

Both boys yelped as they were suddenly pulled into a group hug with Nasrin, Harry and Ginny, another yelp signaling that Hermione had also bowled Luna right over.

"You're doing things I don't understand." Luna stated, brow furrowed. "Is this what it's like for you guys all the time? I don't like it."

Harry laughed as Nasrin pulled back, tears shimmering in her eyes despite the beaming smile.

"Alright, this is where things get complicated, kids." She joked.

"And now you're doing references!" Luna complained just as a window burst open and a smiling Whomper reached through to gently touch one of her Poke Balls, happily allowing himself to be captured again. "…And that just raises further questions!"

And Nasrin laughed, her Gem finally starting to glow.


	31. Chapter 31

Once the whole story had been laid out, from the Express being stopped to the hour that hopefully would never be, they waited anxiously for Ron, Neville and Luna to absorb the information.

There were precious minutes left to draw up battle plans, and not all of them could be wasted stewing.

"Did I also catch a talking Zigzagoon who has an obsession with guns?" Luna wondered, watching as Percy swept up the shattered glass.

"No." Harry answered immediately.

"Good, that means _I_ can cosplay as Rocket!"

"Say something." Ginny whispered when the boys remained silent. "Say you believe us."

"What?" Ron voiced, blinking away his daze. "Of course I believe you! I'm just shocked I did something so stupid."

"Yeah, but all of us tend to run off without thinking." Neville pointed out. "It's almost a tradition at this point."

"Still, getting caught like that? I'm a bloody idiot."

"You believe us?" Nasrin asked, surprised as Harry that this was so easy, and Ron laughed.

"Think about it. Our first Battle Instructor was possessed by Voldemort, and I killed him before he could take control of a legendary Poke Ball that can capture anything. The year after that, our Battle Instructor mindwiped students, Cho Chang was possessed by Voldemort, you fought and captured the Beast of Slytherin by wielding the Sword of Gryffindor, which happened to be a Cobalion that's still alive after all these years. Scabbers being your godfather's brother? That's tame for even this year."

"Remember when Luna spent a week dressed in a jumpsuit trying to drive out some ghost she called Peeves?" Neville reminded them. "Now _that_ was weird."

"Where was Slimer when you needed him?" Luna sighed.

"So you're all on-board with us?" Hermione clarified.

"Scabbers is evil. Snape is Harry's uncle. Neville died, Luna and I almost died, you have a Legendary that can travel back in time." Ron listed. "Yeah, I think I have it all."

"I wish we led duller lives." Ginny grumbled.

"What's the game plan?" Neville asked, serious. "I assume we're going about this a bit differently this go around."

"Hell yes." Nasrin replied as Harry pulled out his Pokedex.

"Tonks?"

"What the hell took you so long?" The Auror screamed, forcing him to dial back the volume. "I've been pretending to take a piss for the last eight minutes so I could get your call in private. Sirius is going to think I have bladder issues! It's bad enough that I suddenly found myself an hour back in time while I was in the middle of a _jump_! I about broke my ankle, you no good bloody-"

"Okay, okay, sorry for the wait!" Harry cut in. "But we're here now, so we can come up with a battle plan."

"The plan is what it should have been from the start. You seven stay in the tower, and don't even think of interfering."

"Exactly." Harry answered.

"I agree one-hundred-percent." Nasrin agreed.

"…Why do I suddenly hear someone screaming 'it's a trap'?"

"Oh, was I shouting that out loud?" Luna wondered, blushing.

"It isn't." Nasrin assured.

"I admit that we all screwed up. We want Regulus to pay, and we're willing to sit back and let you do the work." Harry explained.

"Still think this might be a trap." Tonks admitted.

"It's not, I swear." The boy replied.

"Harry…"

"Alright, fine!" Nasrin gave in with a sigh.

"We're going to wait till you sign off, and then go to the back door that Regulus used to escape the Shack and stake it out."

"See, was that so hard?" Tonks said with a smile. "And now I can have Castform guard that door, giving you no reason to go to the Shack. Thanks for your offer, though."

The call ended, and Neville raised a brow.

"That isn't your real plan, is it?"

"Nope." Harry replied, standing with Nasrin to head for the teleporter.

"We're going to the Shrieking Shack, aren't we?"

"Nope again." Nasrin answered.

"We were being honest when we said we wanted to stay out of Sirius' and Tonks' way."

"But we're still going to help." Ron clarified, confused.

Both smirked as they stepped onto the teleporter.

"Yes. If Sirius fails, then we're going to make sure Regulus doesn't harm another person ever again."

* * *

The alarm was so piercing that Prince flinched, and Nasrin passed a hand over his helmet in sympathy, grateful that the rest of her Pokemon were safely in their Balls.

"Did you have to set off the loudest bloody alarm in the entire school, Gin?" Ron shouted, hands clamped over his ears.

"There's only one alarm that's triggered when the lockdown procedure is in effect, Ron!" Ginny retorted with a roll of the eyes, disconnecting her Pokedex from the panel. "Alright, if the sirens and flashing lights weren't clues enough, I did it."

"Good." Harry replied loudly, Nasrin already leading them away.

Another feature added with the new security system, the lockdown procedure allowed the headmaster to seal different parts of the school, either to protect students or keep an invader locked up in a classroom, and was marketed as being the most hacker-proof system on the market.

Ginny hacked it weeks ago for fun, and now had the entire school locked down except for a few select doors, both to protect students while informing the teachers and Auror Corps that there was trouble.

"So now we wait it out, right?" Neville asked, stepping inside.

"Seems kinda boring." Ron complained as he followed.

"Well, I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about." Luna stated with a shrug while crossing the threshold. "We can discuss why Harry and Nazz betrayed us."

"Why they did what?" Ginny asked, yelping when said boy shoved her inside moments before the door closed and locked itself.

"We're sorry." They apologized, visions of Neville's fallen body, Ron's terrified face and Luna's wail filling their minds.

"But we're not going to risk any of you again."

"That was pretty sneaky."

Nasrin yelped, spinning around while Harry cursed to find that Hermione had not been locked inside as expected.

"And there's no need for that language. Now then-"

"Hermione…"

"Don't." The bushy-haired girl cut off firmly. "I'm with you two on this, whether you like it or not."

"You don't have to do this." Nasrin reasoned.

"You've proved yourself enough."

"We forgave you for Lockhart-"

"You think this is about forgiveness?" Hermione retorted, scowling. "Harry, Nazz…I know you've forgiven me. I know. This isn't about that at all. This is about you two being my friends, and me standing beside you till the end. I couldn't during our First Year, and the Second…Well, you know what happened there. But this year? This year, I help you save the day."

Her eyes flashed with deep fire.

"Besides, he hurt _my_ friends, too."

Harry shut his eyes, and Nasrin took his hand, taking a deep breath.

"Alright." She conceded.

"But we play this my way."

"What's the plan?" Hermione wondered as they began to run down the corridors, heading upward.

With the alarm going off and the halls deserted, it felt like just after the Dusknoir swept through in that false future, eerie and distorted by the red emergency lights.

Prince grunted, taking a sharp turn, and Harry lunged for the door, which opened easily thanks to Ginny's skill, showing a steep staircase that led up to a teleporter pad.

The trio rushed up, Prince bounding ahead, and arrived on top of the astronomy tower in a few quick turns.

Plenty of late-night classes had them familiar with the room, but with the muted alarm acting as background noise to a quiet night, there was only dread left to fill them.

"What are we looking for?" Hermione asked quietly, brushing her fingers along the empty desks.

"Regulus didn't have the Control Ball with him." Harry explained, already looking underneath for hiding spots.

"If he had, he would have used it right in the Shrieking Shack." Nasrin continued, hopping up to float and see if it was sitting on top of the bookcases.

"We're betting he stashed it here."

"Why couldn't he have hidden it somewhere else and just brought it here?"

"He might like theatrics, but he isn't a fool." Harry replied, passing his hand over the wall in hopes of finding a loose brick.

"He needed to get to the Control Ball and activate it without any time to spare." Nasrin agreed, moving astronomical devices in hopes of uncovering a hiding spot.

"It's here."

"What's a Control Ball, anyway?" Hermione finally asked, checking Professor Sinistra's desk as Prince sniffed around. "I've never heard of it before."

"That's because it isn't your typical Poke Ball." Nasrin answered, dropping to check underneath the desks.

"A Control Ball is about twice the size of a normal Poke Ball, and can hold other Poke Balls, activating them in one burst." Harry elaborated, moving to the next wall.

"Sirius uses one to control his Dusknoir, and Regulus does the same thing."

"So it's too big to carry all the time, and can't be shrunk down like a normal Poke Ball." Hermione deduced. "So he must have hidden it in the tower after he escaped the dorm and sent the Dusknoir to Le Fay's Landing, but when he failed, he couldn't get the Ball back."

"And the Dusknoir slowly returned in the night." Nasrin finished as Prince stopped in front of a bookshelf.

"Waiting for their master to return."

Harry reached up for a handful of books sticking out past their neighbors, and smirked.

"Too bad we got to it first."

The boy revealed a heavy silver Ball with ebony markings, showing both girls.

"I give you the Control Ball."

"Thank you, Harry."

Nasrin whirled around, shield materializing in one hand, and Prince rumbled like thunder as Regulus stepped into the tower through another window from his Crobat.

Harry and Hermione followed her lead, backing up closer to the far wall as the man recalled his Pokemon and smiled, stepping closer.

"I'm very glad you found that. My name is Regulus Black. I've been working with my brother, Sirius, to help stop-"

"Save your lies." Harry cut off.

"We know who you are, _traitor_." Nasrin growled, unsheathing her sword.

"We know _everything_."

Regulus' mouth puckered, but his tone stayed pleasant.

"So you puzzled it all out. Perhaps you're smarter than those you keep the company of. My brother and his little allies were all quite startled when I made my appearance."

Prince growled when the man took another step forward, extending his hand.

"Now let us see if you're smarter than your parents. Surrender, and I will let you live."

"Piss off." Harry snapped, fingers tightening around the Control Ball.

Regulus sighed, eyes rolling skyward as if an exasperated parent dealing with an unruly child.

"As dumb as they are, I see."

Another step, and Prince snarled, brandishing his wing-blade.

"What do you plan to do now? The Control Ball is bio-locked to me. You can't use the Dusknoir. Maybe you're thinking of fighting me?"

He called forth his Empoleon, Manectric and Crobat.

"Your Pokemon are weak compared to mine. They aren't even fully evolved. My Pokemon are older than you three combined. Yes, Rose Quartz, you might be able to fight them yourself…But can you fight them all at once?"

Jaw clenched tight, Nasrin glared right back as the memory of Scooby wounded from that Manectric's fangs burned in her blood, and Regulus leaned in with a twisted smile.

"Of course, you could call forth the Beast, or the Legendary of Rose Quartz, and you would get the pleasure of seeing the look of surprise on my face-"

The man made an exaggerated expression of said surprise.

"-Just before the floor collapsed under their weight and all of us plunged to our deaths. We'd probably take out what remains of your family. I had a head start, but Sirius and his merry band must have begun the chase by now. They won't get here in time to save you, but they'll be halfway here when Zygarde and Solgaleo crash down on them!"

Turning to Hermione, the traitor gave a sickeningly-sweet smile.

"Hermione, always the logical one. Harry and Nasrin aren't playing the odds. If you don't give me the Ball, I'll kill you. You know that's a fact. I'll destroy your Pokemon, and then I'll slit your throats. Giving me the Ball, however…Well, I myself don't know what I'll do, honestly. But isn't a maybe better than a certainty?"

He lunged a step, and the three flinched back, Nasrin raising her shield.

"Because it _is_ a certainty. I'm going to kill you if you don't give me that Ball. Come on, now…Why don't you take a gamble? Live a little."

Hermione glanced at her friends before fixing her gaze on Regulus, shoulders rolling back.

"You want to talk about certainties? Okay, let's do that. I don't know for certain what will happen if we try and keep the Ball from you. You'll try to kill us, but Sirius might get here first, or Nazz might take you down, or we might get in a lucky shot. But I know for certain that if you get this Ball, innocent people will die. So yes, I will play the better odds…Asshole."

"Foolish, stupid girl-"

The Nocturne agent stopped short when Harry held up the Control Ball, almost entranced.

"You think I'm weak-willed." The boy stated, waving said Ball side to side as Regulus' eyes followed. "You think I don't stand up for myself, and that I allow myself to be cowed. But here's the thing…I think the same about you. You're a coward who hides and refuses to stand up like a man and fight. No, you prefer to hide in the shadows like a yellow-bellied snake who's skittish of the light. So, maybe we _are_ the same, Regulus…Except for one key difference."

Nasrin tensed as Harry planted his feet.

"I remember where I'm standing."

With a twist, Harry smashed the Control Ball through the window at their backs, sending it flying out into the night with a shower of broken glass.

Regulus scrambled forward, reaching, but his goal fell away, lost in the darkness.

" _You_ -"

Nasrin cried out as his Empoleon lunged, smashing both powerful fins into her shield and sending the girl flying into a nearby bookshelf, and Prince roared as he clashed with Manectric, far too angry to care about the electricity trying to paralyze him.

" _YOU_ -"

Lashing out, the half-Gem kicked the large Water/Steel-type away and watched in horror as Regulus dangled Harry and Hermione out that broken window by their necks.

"No, this is better! This is so much better!"

"Regulus!" Sirius yelled as he burst inside, the pinkette scrambling to her feet.

"Yet another one you couldn't save, brother."

" _NO_!" Nasrin screamed as both went tumbling out of sight, gravity cruelly taking hold.

Her whole world seemed to narrow and slow on that one moment, like someone slowing the speed of a video, the sounds of battle and frustrated cries muted and strangely warped.

" _Nasrin_."

With a jolt, she realized this was the Speaker's Realm sliding into place, and there was Prince at her side, sturdy and confident and calm even covered with electrical burns and sluggishly-bleeding bites.

" _I offered you my strength to protect those precious to you. It is time you used it_."

A deep breath, and Nasrin nodded as the familiar blackness began to fade, reaching out to touch-

The adults fell back with startled cries as Prince's Poke Ball exploded into magnificent white light that consumed both half-human and Pokemon, like the explosion of true evolution, and a new Pokemon burst forth, already galloping towards the window.

The helmet that had encaged Prince's head was long-shattered, freeing a metal-beaked lupine head with spikes jutting from a freed wing-blade, and they leapt into the unknown with a roar, Gem glowing with a fierce light as another burst of light signaled a similar transformation.

A great white Noctowl swooped up past the astronomy tower, and Hermione squeaked as she was pulled onto the quadruped Pokemon's back, clinging tightly to a pink-furred neck as her current savior landed on the cold lawn with barely a jolt.

Breathing shakily, the bushy-haired girl straightened and gasped as familiar dark eyes turned to stare back at her.

"N-Nazz?"

Her gaze went skyward, shocked.

"Harry?"

The strange Pokemagnus nodded, gently urging the Third Year off, and raced after the albino Noctowl as Remus arrived in his own Zoroark form and Sirius followed as a Houndoom.

It took moments with their shared eyes to spot Regulus overhead on his Crobat, trying to flee, and the spines of their wing-blade and the membrane of their fish-fin went icy blue as the Noctowl dive-bombed them, sending the three into a dangerous tailspin.

A roar, and Harry/Hedwig pulled free as Nasrin/Prince fired an Ice Beam that froze two of the Crobat's wings, forcing the Bat Pokemon into a crash-landing.

Neither paid attention as the adults arrived, or even when their friends arrived with Whomper; all that mattered was that this man had done horrible things, and he must be punished.

"Stay back!" Regulus screamed as Harry/Hedwig approached, scrambling.

It seemed that his long years as Scabbers had a side effect he had not expected.

 _A fear of birds_.

"No! No! Stay back! Stay back!"

The albino Noctowl let out a cry, flaring their wings, as the chimera-Pokemon brandished their own metal beak threateningly.

The spikes and membrane went red, and Regulus cried out as a well-placed Flamethrower prevented him from calling out Manectric.

Regulus twisted about violently, looking in vain for an escape, but found none.

Remus and Sirius were holding the east and south, Tonks the north- _where her Rotom was happily shocking his Rattata_ -, Whomper stood with the other students not far from her, and Snape had the west, his Seviper only inspiring more terror from the man.

The circle tightened, and Nasrin/Prince roared in triumph as Harry/Hedwig descended on their prey, slashing at the traitor with beak and talons.

Blood splashed across the grass, and the chimera-Pokemon let out a burst of flame in upset when Remus separated from Moony, trying to interfere.

"Nasrin, let me through."

A tense moment passed, and the half-Gem separated from her Pokemon, expression mulish as she allowed the professor passage to Harry.

"That's enough now." Remus stated softly, and Harry/Hedwig hooted in disagreement until he grabbed the Noctowl's face and forced them to make eye contact. "Harry, maybe he does deserve to die. There are plenty who believe that-"

"Amen." Sirius chimed in, separating from Padfoot.

"-But it's not for you to decide, not like this."

Remus dropped his gaze to the bloodied Nocturne agent in disgust, Pokemon moving in to make sure he made no move out of turn.

"I understand, Harry, I do! The beast is telling you to kill him, but you're a man, Harry, and you need to let Regulus be tried by our laws…Not the laws of a Pokemon."

Prince rumbled in disagreement, insectoid claws digging into the grass, and Nasrin closed her eyes in frustration.

But they separated, Hedwig glaring from Harry's shoulders while he looked down at the pathetic wreck of a man that had caused so much pain.

"Okay, Remus." The boy conceded, clearly disagreeing. "We do it your way."

His foot lashed out, and Regulus barely grunted as his head snapped back, out cold.

"There, now I'm done."

"Remus! Severus!"

The group turned at Professor Dumbledore's shout, watching as the headmaster rushed from the castle with Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout in tow, Filch trailing behind to mourn the broken astronomy tower window.

"What is-Miss Tonks?"

Professor Dumbledore stopped at this, looking over the group more closely.

"And…Sirius Black? My boy…And Regulus?"

That sharp periwinkle gaze darted from face to face.

"I gather I've missed quite a bit, haven't I?"


	32. Chapter 32

Straightening everything out took hours.

Tonks handcuffed the man and handed the DNA Splicer over to Professor Dumbledore for safe-keeping, and then came the explanation of exactly what had happened.

Unfortunately, before they could even reached the Pokemagnus transformations, Madame Bones had arrived and had to be told the story all over again, and then Prime Minister Fudge showed up, babbling about rumors of an attack on Hogwarts-

Harry and Nasrin had enough right then, and told the adults that the story was only going to be told once, so whoever needed to hear it needed to be gathered before one more word was spoken.

That was _probably_ how they ended up in the grand audience hall of the Pokemon League, telling said story to the Elite Four, the entire Hogwarts staff, the Council of Gym Leaders, the Prime Minister, all of his department heads, along with various businessmen, foreign dignitaries, and reporters from every major news outlet.

Once the tale was done- _including a tangent by Luna about the creation of the One Ring of Power_ -, they sat down and listened as the adults bickered on what to do about this strange turn of events.

Sirius had been enraged when they decided to send Regulus to the northern prison of The Monmouth's Tower for life, warning that Johto would not take kindly to such an insult, since every other Nocturne agent was housed on Sevii.

Easiest was deciding to change Sirius' status, and he accepted the Black family mansion and Gym with reinstated citizenship alongside his newer title as Lord of Sevii.

A bigger problem, however, was the Black family's position on the Council of Gym Leaders.

When the Potters and Blacks were thought wiped out, the Malfoys and Parkinsons had taken their places, and Sirius' return threatened their iron control.

"The Black family is one of the oldest Gym families in all of Avalon, and I think we all can agree that our region will benefit greatly from their return." Lucius Malfoy had said, slick as oil. "Also, considering the news that we have just heard in this chamber, I believe that a shakeup is needed, so that we might…eliminate, those that would bring shame upon us."

Harry and Nasrin knew this meant that the Weasleys would likely be stripped of their Gym status, since it had just been revealed Regulus had hidden himself among their Raticate, and Sirius did, too.

"Honored Gym Leaders, what you say is true. I do long to return the Ancient and Noble House of Black to its glory days." The Lord of Sevii replied, stressing the title of his House. "However, I would be doing Avalon no good if I stepped into that role right now. I'm simply not mentally prepared for such a task."

He placed a hand on Harry and Neville's shoulders.

"But in only a few years, we'll see these two young boys come of age and take their rightful places as Gym Leaders. Would it not be better to have me wait? Why not give me a few years to reconcile what happened to me, and then, in one fell swoop, the three of us can join your ranks while allowing you all time to make conclusions on who must go."

The other Gym Leaders applauded, and Snape leaned in to whisper in the pairs' ears.

"The mutt is rather clever when he wants to be. No one will deny you your spot. The Potters are institutions, and Avalon would be insane to deny Lily's Heir his spot. Even if Lord Malfoy manages to remove the Weasleys, he'll have to eliminate himself or Parkinson. The Longbottoms and the Lovegoods will be united, and Neville would block any attempt to remove Xeno. Greengrass is a snake like Malfoy, and won't be crushed under his heel easily, and the others are too ingrained for him to attempt a coup. And even if he can eliminate one of them, he'll have a voting block of Potter, Black and Longbottom."

Snape snorted, almost amused.

"Not to mention the Ancient and Noble House of Rose Quartz. The rest will clamor to you, and you can have him and Parkinson driven out. Look at him. He knows he lives on borrowed time."

"But a cornered Pokemon is sometimes the most dangerous." Harry whispered back, Hedwig bobbing on Nasrin's shoulder as Prince leaned into his side.

Snape raised a brow, something like pride flashing through his eyes.

"Yes, that is true."

Next, Sirius declared himself the Head of House Black, as was his birthright as the remaining Black, and quickly took advantage of his new power by acknowledging Harry as his Heir, which was possible since his paternal grandmother, Dorea Potter, was a Black.

Remus and Snape were named Honored Friends, along with many Sons of Johto, and the Minister nearly crapped himself when Jack and Jonas Kenway were named Regents of House Black should something happen to Sirius before Harry was of age.

It was the reinstatement of Andromeda Tonks nee Black as a member of his House that Sirius took the most joy in making, and the brunette lawyer broke down in tears as her cousin took the entire disowned family under his protection.

"Like anyone would ever think of crossing them now." Ginny pointed out. "The Lord of Sevii, the Head of House Black, and one of the commanders of the Sons of Johto? Sirius might be the last man anyone in Avalon would want to cross!"

Nasrin did not think on that much; they were Harry's cousins, and Harry cared for them, and so they were under the protection of her House as much as Sirius'.

 _I will never let anyone hurt him like that again_.


	33. Chapter 33

On the final day of school, the Third and Second Years were allowed to leave Hogwarts for a very special event.

 _More a field trip, really, considering most of the Hogwarts staff joined them_.

In Godric's Hollow, Nasrin held Harry's hand as the last two Marauders' pulled a sheet off a large stone figure.

A statue of the Potters stood in the town's main square, made of the finest white stone, with James and Lily standing proudly with Poke Balls in hand, a plaque naming both them and their Pokemon with a reminder that they were Saviors of Avalon.

Now, a third statue joined them today of Peter Pettigrew, his plaque reading In Honor of Peter Pettigrew, Who Gave His Life In The Name of Brotherhood and Friendship.

"For too many years, Avalon thought the worst of one who deserved nothing but our praise." Remus voiced, swallowing back tears. "I'm as guilty of this as the rest of you. But today…Today, we make amends for this terrible mistake. Today, Peter Pettigrew at long last joins with the greatest heroes of Avalon, and in their mighty company, he shall feel no shame."

The crowd erupted in applause, and once it finally trickled away, Harry and Nasrin joined the three adults near the statues.

"It's a fine statue, my boys." Professor Dumbledore praised. "I'm only sad it took such drastic events to bring the truths to light."

"I think many truths have been lost to the ages, Albus." Remus noted. "Today, at least, we managed to drag one back."

"And hey, just imagine how great my statue will look up there!" Sirius boasted, earning a snort from Prince.

"Too bad you'll be dead, and won't be able to admire it." Harry teased, Hedwig ruffling her feathers with a laugh.

Sirius pouted, and Professor Dumbledore chuckled, looking upon the four Gryffindors with twinkling eyes.

"Tell me, what are your plans now?"

"If you're asking if I'm going be moving back into 12 Grimmauld Place, then the answer is no." The Lord of Sevii answered with a grin. "Haven't been in that horrid building since I was a Fifth Year, and I have no plans to do so anytime soon. No, I think I'll have it torn down and build something new, a bit more cheerful and bright. That should get the old bloods upset."

He wrapped an arm around Harry, and Nasrin laughed as he gave the boy a shake.

"Until then, I think I'll use some of my new wealth to purchase a home next to Remus' and keep an eye on Pronglet here!"

"A fine idea." The headmaster agreed, tugging on his beard thoughtfully. "Though, as I think upon it…"

"What is it, professor?" Nasrin wondered, Squeakers perking up on her hair.

"Oh, I'm just thinking that it's simply unfair that you haven't seen what the other regions have to offer. With Sirius as a Son of Johto, perhaps a journey to that region would be in order." Professor Dumbledore explained with a smile. "Perhaps when the World Gauntlet Championship is taking place?"

The Third Years' faces lit up at this, and turned to Remus and Sirius pleadingly.

"Please, can we?" The pair begged.

"Thank you, Albus, thank you…" Remus groaned. "Now I have to say yes if I want to avoid a summer of Harry and Nasrin whining."

"Harry and Nasrin?" Sirius piped up with a raised brow. "If you don't say yes, then _I'll_ whine!"

The headmaster laughed deeply at the look Remus shot him, placing a hand on each man's shoulder.

"My dear, dear boys. When I think of where we were three years ago, I can scarcely believe I'm not in some wondrous dream. So much has returned to us, and for that I'm eternally grateful."

His mood turned somber.

"Though, it seems that the scales of fate are continually adjusting themselves. Voldemort has returned twice now, and this year saw Regulus Black revealed for what he truly was."

The old man sighed now, turning away.

"I fear what other things will be dredged up from the darkness that is our past. What new nightmare now lumbers towards Avalon, waiting to be born?"

"But if the scales must be balanced…" Harry started.

"Doesn't that mean that light will also come?" Nasrin finished.

After a moment, Professor Dumbledore flashed the Third Years a sad smile.

"My dear students, never lose your ability to hope."

* * *

"You know, if all it takes is a Dusknoir attack to get us our own private train, with no Draco mind you, then I saw let them come again next year!" Ron claimed.

"Don't even joke about that, Ron!" Ginny whined. "I'd personally take a thousand Dracos over one Dusknoir."

Said train was taking the group, plus Sirius, Remus and Tonks, back to Galahad City, and the Lord of Sevii had happily filled the time entertaining the Gryffindors with stories of his time in Hogwarts.

The tales of pranks and Gauntlet matches and other such moments had the students in stitches from laughter, so it took a moment for Harry to notice that his godfather had pulled out his trainer bag.

"What are you up to?" Nasrin voiced, Prince grunting in agreement.

"So mistrusting!" Sirius complained. "You act like I'm going to do something horrible to you!"

"Considering the last hour has been filled with stories of you pulling pranks on people you called 'friend'…" Harry pointed out, Hedwig giggling.

"You're going to feel so embarrassed for doubting me once you see what I've got here." The Head of House Black claimed, waving off the accusation.

"What do you have, Mister Black?" Neville wondered, catching his breath.

"Well, it occurred to me that I have about twelve birthdays to make up for, and since Harry's first birthday, I got him a Ball, it would only make sense to get him another one." Sirius explained, pulling out a miniaturized Poke Ball with an H engraved on it. "But then I thought to myself, 'Sirius, you magnificent man and sex god to all female trainers everywhere, Harry wouldn't be happy to get something in front of his friends'! So I decided to share the wealth."

With that, he reached into the bag…

And pulled out seven more Poke Balls, each engraved with their initials, including Tonks'.

"Sirius…" Nasrin voiced, catching the Ball thrown her way. "You didn't have to. This is-"

"Exactly what you deserve." Sirius cut in softly. "Not only did you help avenge Peter and Lily and James, all of you were there for Harry when I couldn't be. Spending some coin and calling in some favors to get these guys is the least I could do."

The man smiled then, hands rubbing together excitedly.

"Come on, come on, let them out!"

"You'd think you were the one receiving the gift." Remus teased, though he also leaned forward with anticipation.

"Ginny, you go first." Harry decided, Hedwig hopping to Nasrin's shoulder for a better view.

"I tried to pick out a Pokemon that fit each of you." Sirius explained as the youngest Weasley gave her Ball a toss. "I know Lily-flower is your idol, Miss Weasley, and what an idol to have, but I hope that in lieu of a Torchic-"

"He's perfect!" Ginny squealed in delight as the Chimchar leapt into her arms, playing with her hair. "Oh, thank you, Mister Black, thank you!"

"Now, Miss Lovegood." The Lord went on, stroking his chin as Luna went next. "I thought at first about trying to get you a Fire-type, too, but when I found this guy on the market, I knew he'd be perfect for you."

"That he is!" The half-Veela agreed, hugging her new Chespin. "I shall call him Neville Junior!"

"Can we not name him after me?" Neville tried, sighing in defeat at the shake of her head.

" _It's the Circle of Life_!" She sang, Nasrin joining in with a grin.

" _And it moves us all_!"

Any upset evaporated when the Longbottom saw his Turtwig, calling out Flora immediately to meet the new addition and establish a pecking order, which the Tiny Leaf Pokemon accepted easily, tugging on her leaves.

"Alright, Mister Weasley, you're up!"

Ron was practically vibrating as he opened his own Ball, smiling broadly as a Tepig appeared, snorting up a storm as he ran around the boy's feet.

"Now, unlike the others, this little guy was already given a name." Sirius admitted, making a face. "Personally, I think Pigwidgeon is a mouthful-"

"Not for us, Mister Black!" Ron assured, reaching down to pet Pigwidgeon. "Ain't that right, Pig?"

"You're next, Hermione." Nasrin offered, and the bushy-haired girl swallowed back happy tears before calling out her new Pokemon.

"Oh my…"

The Fennekin rumbled in delight as a shocked Hermione stroked her fur, cuddling close.

"Th-Thank you, Mister Black."

"You're turn, Nasrin." The Lord of Sevii urged, smiling.

Nodding, the half-Gem released the rest of her Pokemon to see before opening the engraved Poke Ball, staring in amazement at the Pokemon that materialized.

"Hello." She whispered as the tiny Litten stretched out, tail twitching lazily as those red eyes looked over the group quietly. "I'm Nasrin, and these are my friends. Do you want to be my friend, too?"

The Fire Cat Pokemon purred, hopping up onto her lap, and she curled gentle fingers through black fur as Lei and Squeakers rushed to meet him, Snow only a step behind.

"Welcome to the family, Shadow."

"Think you did rather well, Sirius." Remus acknowledged, patting his friend on the back.

"I just had the ideas." Sirius stage-whispered. "Jack was the one that did the negotiating for all but Turtwig and Chimchar. Said Drayden owed him a few, and, well, Jack and Cynthia-"

"Yeah, yeah, name-drop all you want on your own time!" Tonks interrupted. "Harry and I've been waiting long enough, Sirius!"

"Well, you can wait a second more." He replied, expression going serious as he moved to place a hand on each of their shoulders. "A few weeks ago, I corrected a great wrong and brought you under the protection of my House. Tonks, your mother's birthright was stolen from her. Harry, you are a Black both through my love for you and your blood. My brother was wrong about many things, but the status of the House of Black is not one of them. The Blacks have fallen into ruin. Regulus is jailed, Bellatrix mad and imprisoned in the depths of Sevii, and too many of my family dead because of the war with Voldemort. I may be the Head of our House, but it will not be I who repairs House Black. That task falls to you two. In you, I place my hope of not just raising House Black, but making it something better, something stronger. To do that, you each need a Pokemon, a Pokemon that will prove to the world that you are the future of House Black…"

Tonks seemed to catch on, holding out her Poke Ball with a trembling hand, and Harry followed suit in releasing the Pokemon within.

"Blimey." Ron whispered as Nasrin gasped.

"Piplup."

"The Piplup is the House Pokemon of House Black." Sirius stated with a nod. "These two have been waiting a very long time to be claimed, and I give them to you now."

He gestured to Tonks' tiny Water-type.

"Apus, the Bird of Paradise. A happy little guy."

Next, he turned to Harry's.

"Orion. The hunter."

"That's…" Remus started, shocked.

"My father's name was Orion." The Head of House Black finished, a touch of sadness mixed with pride. "When I told him I would not join Team Nocturne, he could have easily killed me there. The rest of the family would have applauded. But my father…He told me to run to the Potters and ask for sanctuary. He covered for me, gave me the time to make my escape before my mother and the rest of the family found out. I'm alive today because he, above all other members of my family, saw me for me and not as a pawn on the chessboard."

Opening red-rimmed eyes, Sirius knelt to place both hands on Harry's shoulders.

"I name your Piplup Orion to carry on my father's spirit."

Harry nodded.

"And I swear I'll do you and House Black proud with Orion II."

The train car eased back into companionship and easy comfort, chatting with each other and their new Pokemon, as Harry and Nasrin settled in a nest of their own, content.

Yes, there were dark days ahead, but right now…

 _Right now, things were good_.


	34. Chapter 34

The Crystal Temple was in full bloom as summer fully set in, a cape of colorful wildflowers sprawling down the cliff's slope, and Lei chirped as she sorted through them, Firebolt hopping after her.

Harry and Nasrin watched from the shaded forest below as Hedwig and Robin swooped overhead, hooting and cawing taunts at each other in good-natured fun, while Scooby and Eevee tried to catch a mischievous Wooper that had stolen Star's trick-ball and squirted them in the face, the Brionne unable to stop laughing.

Togetic was skimming over the water to their left, Squeakers clinging to her back and squeaking in delight when the Fairy darted up to avoid a Luvdisc trying to kiss her belly.

Dobby was using the collected flowers to make woven crowns for the young Comfey, reaching down to scratch Squishie behind the ears every now and then, Prince slitting one eye open from where he was sunbathing to lazily watch Scooby and Eevee barrel past with excited yips.

Snow was curled up in the deepest patch of shadow nearby, breathing frost, with Ludwig untangling her fur and chattering away happily, ghostly flame keeping the shadows light.

Curled around the Penguin Pokemon, Shadow purred softly as Orion pet his fur with gentle flippers, huffing and grumbling to the unbothered Fire-type about whatever was upsetting him.

"It's nice, huh?" Nasrin voiced, smiling as Togetic squealed at a barrage of wet kisses from below, Squeakers yelping as he was nearly dumped overboard.

"Yeah…" Harry agreed, thoughtful. "Nazz."

Turning at the tone of voice, the pink-haired teenager blinked as he pulled out a small box, fidgeting with the clasp.

"I've been thinking about this since last summer, but then the whole thing with Sirius happened, and finding the traitor, and training, and…"

Shaking the thought away, Harry looked into those big, dark eyes and breathed out his anxiety.

"You're the most precious person in my life, Nazz. You've always been there when I need you, no matter what, and Fusing with you is the most amazing thing I'll ever be a part of."

Hedwig let out a whistling caw of fake-outrage, and both laughed for a moment before the boy regained his composure.

"I wanted to be sure, but I realized there's nothing I've ever been more sure of."

Nasrin took in a sharp breath as the box opened to reveal a beautiful silver ring, the outer curve fashioned like curling ivy to swirl around the tiny, round stones embedded at the top.

There was garnet, amethyst, pearl, sapphire, ruby, lapis lazuli, peridot-

And right in the center, cut to look like a heart, was a bright emerald, refracting light like a prism.

"This is a promise. One day, when everything is truly settled, I want to spend the rest of my life with you…If you'll have me."

Their Pokemon fell silent, watching, as stars shone in teary-dark eyes.

"Oh, Harry…" Nasrin breathed, linking their hands as her Gem began to pulse with new light. "Of course I will."

* * *

 _ **Well, that's the end! I hope you all enjoyed the ride!**_

 _ **The thing is, I haven't quite finished the next book, let alone come up with a title. And with finally starting the fifth in his series, Harry Potter and the Order of Moltres, I wanted to wait a little more and see if I need to completely rewrite THIS series from the beginning. With this in mind, you probably won't see the next one for a while.**_

 _ **Still, I'm so happy that you all had fun! Thanks for the support!**_

 _ **Sincerely,**_

 _ **ChibiLover123**_


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